


Amongst the Stars

by hunterscoffee



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, POV Female Character, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:14:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 27,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22263940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunterscoffee/pseuds/hunterscoffee
Summary: Y/N Tarkin is the daughter of Wilhuff Tarkin, the Grand Moff of the Outer Rim. At the age of sixteen, she is sent to the Royal Imperial Academy after the death of her brother, where she is trained as an ISB Agent. When she learns that the Aotans did not kill her brother, but Vader on orders from the Emperor and her father was guilty of the mass genocide of the planet’s inhabitants.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Reader, Thrawn | Mitth'raw'nuruodo/Reader
Comments: 30
Kudos: 113





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay for some reason there's no stupid A/N on here. So here's my addition. I am editing this because to be perfectly honest it was shit before.

Tarkin’s daughter. That’s all everyone ever thought of you and you spent your days in the shadow of his success. You barely ever saw him, he didn't even feel like your father, just a man you shared a name with. So to be called his daughter felt almost foreign. The first opportunity your father had to send you to the Royal Imperial Academy he jumped at. As if you were a burden that needed getting rid of. The Royal Imperial Academy was in the heart of Coruscant, it was where all the other families sent their daughters and sons if they were rich or in league with someone that was. It took three years to graduate, students were sent in at the age of 16 and graduated at 19, intense mental and physical testing was undertaken if anyone failed they were kicked out. 

Your father had always been cold and hate-driven, but it had become more apparent after your brother died so you couldn't bargain with him when he commanded you to pack a bag and leave with him for Royal Imperial Academy. 

Your mother had cried, you were her only child left and she begged your father not to take you. Your father wouldn't listen to your mother, he had never loved her, but he liked her even less after your brother's death. Your brother's name was Garoche and though you were close to him, you loved him. Your father loved him too, he was all he wanted in a son, but now you were the last thing your father had to protect his legacy and to uphold his name. It felt like in his eyes, you were a disgrace. 

***

You set the box of your belongings on the stiff bed in your dorm. The room was split into two halves and greys, reds and blacks covered every inch of wall, floor, ceiling, bed, door. Either side was identical, two beds against the wall, the door to the hallway in between them. Desks up against the end of the beds and the wall furthest from the door had two large closets and a line of shelves stretching up the other side of the cupboards. 

There were no other belongings in the room and no sign that you had a roommate. Frankly, you were thankful for it, one less person to please, entertain and pretend to be friends with. You drop the box on the bed to the left and walk towards the closet. You graze your hand on the desk, the side of it sloped up into the wall and a set of drawers stretched down to the floor on the other side of it. In the drawers lay school supplies such as pens, pencils and books. In the top drawer was a datapad, it was light and with a modern design as if it was a new model. When you placed it back into the drawer you noticed the com-panel on top of the desk, it was there for no other reason than to play the Imperial Anthem in the mornings or to contact you directly. 

Almost directly opposite the desk was a cupboard and another set of drawers. The cupboard door and both the desk and the cupboard's drawers didn't have a handle, they opened with a simple push, giving the room a smooth look. Inside the drawers were sets of black bras and briefs and mid-length black socks. All exactly in your size. In the cupboard was the traditional cadet uniform, similar to that of a navy soldier hanging on a clothes hanger. The uniform gave two options, a skirt or trousers. 

A set of grey sweats were hanging next to the uniform. The hoodie had "Tarkin" written on the back and the pants had "Royal Imperial Academy" written down the side. Finally beside the sweats was the daily uniform, fit for combat and classes. That uniform consisted of a long-sleeve t-shirt in a polyester material and long pants in the same material. Both were white with patches of grey and black. 

Three sets of shoes were beneath the clothes sitting on the floor of the closet. One pair were clearly formal shoes, they were so shiny you could see your face in them, another were everyday boots for classes and the last were trainers for exercise. 

Behind the clothes was an ironing board, iron and shoe polishing equipment on a shelf in the back of the closet. Out of interest, you walked over to the completely identical cupboard on the other side of the room. Upon opening it you found it was empty. So you were alone and without a 'roomie'. What sparked your interest next was the door between the two cupboards. This door did have a handle and without hesitation, you opened it and flicked on the light to reveal a bathroom. A rather large shower with a glass door filled the space to the left, a toilet and laundry chute was to the right and a large sink with a large mirror was directly in front of you. 

On the counter beside the side lay a piece of paper with your name in your father’s handwriting on it lay on the space beside the sink. You furrowed your eyebrows at it. This was unlike your father, his usual manner was upfront, he wasn't the type to send letters. 

_"Do you remember when your brother died? You were only young, seven or eight. No one ever told you what happened. As much as I regret not telling you this in person, but you have to know I only ever had good intentions._

_Garoche was sent to the Atoan Crystal Planet by the Emperor and when he died I was told that it was the Atoans that killed him. It pains me more then you can know to tell my daughter of the monster I am, but in my anger, I killed the Atoans. All of them. I'm sorry if I lied, or you hate me know, but you always hated me._

_I have good reason to send you here. Only now, years after my actions on the Crystal Planet am I sent a threat to the lives of you and your mother. You are safer here, at the academy then on Eriadu. You are the only thing left to uphold my name and legacy and I expect you to succeed."_

You bit your lip harshly, you could hear his voice when you read the note, cold and unloving. Even his words were emotionally distant, but you knew you had no other choice than to conform to the rules of the academy. If you were to fail then your dad would truly disown you. 

You walked back out of the bathroom, the box you brought with you still sat on the bed. You pulled the one thing you brought with you out of the box, it was a picture of your parents and your brother, all of them were sporting a smile. You fold the note and slip it behind the photo, then you place the frame on your desk. The picture was the only good thing you had left of your family and the note was the worst.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oKAY, so i'm really sorry for anyone who had to read the previous version of this. It was shit.

“Y/N Tarkin,” Eli said, he and Thrawn were looking over at the table where you sat alone. “Her father is Grand Moff Tarkin, he works closely with the Emperor.” Thrawn nods, his features expressing no emotion. “There are all sorts of rumours about her, like-”

“What is a  _ rumour _ ?” The chiss interrupted and Eli turned to look at him, Thrawn, however, kept his eyes trained on you.   
“Oh, um,  _ inzwibathe _ , a false story that people tell each other for entertainment or to hurt that person,” Eli said after a moment of thought.   
“So to hurt her?” He asked. "Why would they want to hurt her?” Then he noticed Eli was laughing. “What is funny?”

“You think she's cute." Eli giggled, Thrawn stopped looking at you.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Like?  _ Thanda _ ?” Eli cocked his head, surely the Chiss knew this. “Do they not teach you this on Csilla?"

"No, my people are very reserved," Thrawn told him.

“Well, humans aren’t,” Eli said with a laugh. “She’s dangerous though, with her father being a close friend of the Emperor and all.” When Eli turned to Thrawn again he realised Thrawn was looking back at you and in that moment Eli realised he might not let this go.

***

Feeling eyes on you, you look up, trying to find the person they belonged to. An alien and a human sat alone at a table a few meters away from you. The alien had an angular face, his jaw and cheekbones sharp. His skin was a deep blue colour and his eyes were a bright red. He attracted the attention of many others, but he was bound to, being an alien at a prestigious school. He was dressed in the same uniform you were: white shirt and pants with patches of grey and black. The Alien didn’t avert his eyes when he saw you looking back at him, you held his gaze for a hot second before turning away, for some reason the insensitivity of it too much for you. Instead, you poke at the sludge on your tray in thought for a couple of seconds before deciding that you were uncomfortable and you weren't going to eat your MRE anyway. So instead dump the rest of your meal in the bin, there was still quite a bit of it left, but none of it was worth eating. As if in final goodbye you let yourself glance over at him again, he was now talking with his friend next to him, they seemed to be in deep conversation about something. It would be awkward if you stood there any longer, so you turn away from them. There was nothing else to do, so you weaved around the tables to get back to your room.

Four hallways stretched from the cafeteria, two of them lead to the dorms, the other two took you to the lecture halls. The hallways to the dorms didn't have any windows whereas the ones that lead to the lecture theatres were full of windows, allowing natural light into them. It was only a short walk to your dorm, though it wasn't particularly scenic. The halls were a dark grey colour, with doors every here and there that lead to other cadet's dorms. Your own dorm was exactly the same as the other thousand, the door the same grey metal and the room the same lonely, personality-less hellhole. But that's how the Empire liked it, only people who were important had the privilege of actually having thoughts. 

The Imperial Song was playing loudly when you woke. It was routine, the song would play over the coms in every room at 5am, serving as an alarm. It was the only indication of morning since none of the cadet’s rooms had windows and without artificial light, darkness enveloped everything. The morning room inspection was at 6 and breakfast was straight after, so you were under the slightest time pressure. You swept your feet over the edge of the bed and blink the sleep from your eyes, lingering there for a second to properly wake up. Once you could think straight again you felt the wall for the light switch. Blinding white flooded the room and you winced away from it, putting a hand up to shield your eyes. With your hand still over your eyes, you pad into the bathroom in order to start your morning.

When you glance at your appearance in the mirror, the first thing you had noticed was the dark lines under your eyes that gave your face a sleep-deprived look. You had been at the academy for three years now and it was safe to say you still weren't used to waking up at 5 and you still had no friends. Most people avoided you, probably worried if they did anything to hurt you, your father would kill them. Having the name ‘Tarkin’ had some upsides though; you could get in any sort of trouble and it would stay off your permanent record. Spitefully you dragged your eyes away from the mirror and started opening the drawers at random until you found your toothbrush and toothpaste, this had become a regular thing since you could never remember where you left them, you also couldn't remember why you even bothered since the toothpaste here tasted like gravel and the brush was stiff and painful against your gums.

However, you keep the toothbrush in your mouth as you walk out of the bathroom to check your timetable. Science, mathematics, piloting and physical training just like yesterday, the day before that and the day before that. The only reason you conformed to the inescapable loop was the out of fear of your father's wrath and your own personal fear of failing, so, in turn you excelled in each and every one of your classes. Chewing the toothbrush, you made sure any books you would need for the day were in a neat pile, then you walked back into the bathroom, rinsed your toothbrush and placed it carefully in the drawer.

Looking over the bathroom you made sure that no mess lay anywhere, though the morning room inspector never went further than the door it was always best to be safe. After you were sure you wouldn't be pulled up for anything in any of the rooms your dorm contained you dressed in your daily uniform which lay folded on the desk from where you had left it last night. You then went through your normal routine; making your bed, gathering your books and setting the thermostat to warm the room around five. After this was done you walked back to the end of your bed, straightening your back, moving your feet together and your hand up by your brow in a salute just in time for the knock on your door and a middle-aged man, balding on the top to walk in and scan the contents of your room.  
“At ease, Tarkin.” His voice was gruff and irritated as if hated his job, far enough life in the Empire wasn’t easy as pie. You moved your hands behind your back and your feet shoulder length apart. Then he walked out and you let a breath you didn’t even release you were holding in, just like yesterday, the day before that and the day before that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My immature self is very much enjoying 69 hits, but I'm back at it again with just casually fucking up small details that may or may not ruin your life.

The lecture hall was full of thousands of students and you sat relatively alone near the back of the class. A man in the Imperial Navy uniform stood at the front of the class, the image of a hyperdrive was on the holoscreen and on a separate screen he had drawn a Mobius Strip. You wiggled the pencil you had in your hand between two fingers, there was a piece of paper on your lap for notes, but so far the professor hadn’t taught you anything you didn’t already know.

“I never pay attention to these classes. We learnt all of this on my planet when we were much younger.” Your head jerks to your right at the voice. The alien that had been staring at you during yesterday’s lunch was sitting next to you. “I guess human culture is much different to my own, something I’m learning more and more of.” He doesn’t look at you, his eyes are fixed on the holoscreen.

“Then why do you take the class?” You ask, he still doesn’t look at you.

“It’s mandatory,” His voice is smooth and with an accent, you can’t place. “And it would look ignorant if I refused to take it. Then again, you take the class and you also don’t pay attention.” He gestures down to the paper in your hand. Nothing was on it.

“My father designed my schedule.” You even with the resentment in your tone you hated how stuck up and prissy that sounded.

“Do you dislike your father?” He asks after a moment of thought and you bristle slightly at his question, he seems to notice your reaction, but doesn’t say anything. 

“Diving straight in?” You were being defensive.

“Sorry, I didn’t know.” He apologises.

“It’s fine.” You mumble. “I guess you drew the shorter straw. An alien at this school? You’re bound to get some disrespect, from both the cadets and the officers.” 

“I am.” He admits. “I’m not sure why though.”

“Basic rule of this galaxy. The closer you live to the core the more respect you’re shown.” You turn back to the lecture. “But you already knew that.” 

“I did, I wanted to know if you felt the same as my  _ azithi _ .” He added the last word in Sy Bisti as if he was testing you.

“Enemies.” You answered without thought. “I don’t, but everyone has hidden biases.” 

“Indeed they do.” He agrees, nodding slightly.

“And that’s how it’s possible to achieve hyperspeed and why the most popular form of travel is hyperspeed.” The professor finished. “The test will be tomorrow.” He adds and you bite your lip, another test, fail and kicked out or pass and stay. 

“ _ Hamba Kehla _ ….” You trail off, realising you still didn't know his name. 

“Thrawn.” He answers. “Goodbye to you too….” Ending his farewell in the same pause.

“Y/N Tarkin.” You answer and he nods.

“Goodbye Y/N Tarkin.” He completes his sentence with satisfaction. “I hope to see you later.”

The next day the same thing happened, but instead, Thrawn sat next to you in Calculus since there were strict test conditions during assessments and if you spoke you failed..

“How was your test?” He asked.

“Fine, yours?” You replied small talk had never been your forte. 

“The question of who manufactured the first hyperdrive was hard.” Just like yesterday, he didn’t look at you, just at the lecture.

“Severinsky,” You turned to him, “But you already knew that.”

“I did.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“To see if you know.” He turned to you. “But you already knew that.”

“I did.” You said hesitantly. “But I wanted you to confirm it. Why do you want to know?” That was your next question.

“Because you fascinated me. My friend keeps saying you’re like your father, but you’re not.” He cocks his head.

“Do you know my father?” You ask and he shakes his head.

“A funny thing rumours are,” He doesn’t turn back to the holoscreen. “They can tell you everything and nothing about a person.” 

“Who is your friend?” You ask. 

“Eli Vanto, he came here as my translator, but he is more like a brother now.” Thrawn now looks away.

“Living with a person does that.” That was the last thing either of you said before a comfortable silence fell over you.

The next in your series of run-ins with Thrawn was in the gym. You had requested to be given proper activewear, not the uniform or the sweats and it had been granted. So here you were in deep combat wearing a short-sleeve t-shirt with “Royal Imperial Academy” written on the back and full-length sports pants. The room you were in was made of glass so that all could see your shame or failure, it was almost poetic. Your towel and water bottle were on a bench in the corner of the training room, and it sat there as you dodged another punch from one of the droids. Then, when you thought you had a vantage point, you swung your leg at the droid's head and it ducked, making you sweep the air where the droid's head had been. The droid then aimed low, but you had been anticipating the move and jumped out of the way with plenty of time to spare. You had been so focused in the fight, you hadn’t noticed that Thrawn was standing in the doorway of the training room, watching the interaction.

“Your form is good, yet it isn’t that of what they teach in combat lessons.” He speaks and you lose your focus, the droid kicks you to the ground. You let out an ‘oof’ followed by an 'ow'. 

“Off,” You command quickly before the droid could do any more damage and it freezes where it was. “You scared the shit out of me.” You curse.

“Sorry.” He says, but the apology didn’t seem genuine. You walk over to the bench for some water, draping the towel over your shoulders. 

“Is this the next test in the series?” You ask and he smiles.

“They aren’t tests, so to speak.” He says and you hum.

“Mmm, ‘so to speak’.” You quote him.

“Do I make you feel uneasy?” He asks suddenly.

“No…” You trail off, “Why?”

“My friend, Vanto, he thinks you will get us kicked out.” That you laugh at. 

“Get you kicked out?” You repeat, an eyebrow raised. “That’s what he thinks?” 

“Yes.” Thrawn nods.

"Why?" You were asking 'why' a lot. 

"I told you, he thinks you are like your father." He says like it was obvious. 

"Yeah,” You touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth, resting your hands on your hips. “But you said I’m not.” 

“He doesn’t agree with me,” Thrawn said.

“He doesn’t know my father.” You sighed, walking out of the training room. The lights turned off as you weaved around the equipment, Thrawn hadn’t moved from where he stood, leaning against the doorway, he just watched you leave.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for 100 hits mates. But there's just one thing. WHERE ARE MY KUDOS JOHN?! 
> 
> And that's comedy.

"Did I say something to upset you yesterday?" Thrawn asked when you sat together in Physics. 

"No. It made me think, I thought I knew my father," Both you and he keep your eyes trained on the holoscreen. “Turns out no-one knows him.”

“ _ Bokha ebangana nabi izihimba _ .” He murmurs in Sy Bisti.

“Your friends are strangers,” You repeat and he nods, then you turn to him. “Are you a stranger?”

“Am I your friend?” He looks away from the professor, focusing his eyes on you.

“Are you?” You challenge, his eyes never leave yours and you notice that they’re not all just one shade of red, the sclera of his eyes was pink compared to the red of his iris. Black outlined the brilliant red in a perfect circle and his pupils also a deep black, making them stand out.

“I hope so.” His voice ever the same smooth tone.

“I hope so too.” You admit and he smiles.

“So, you’ve learnt about hyperspace travel, have you learnt this?” You ask genuinely, referring to the advanced algebra on the holoscreen.

“I have, though I’m not sure what need I have for it.” He professes.

“Shopping?” You suggest and he smiles again.

“Have you learnt this?” He asks and you nod.

“These classes become repetitive after three years,” You answer. “The concept is always the same: find x, find y, find xy if you’re lucky.” This time when he smiled his eyes twinkled slightly.

When the bell rang you and Thrawn left the class together before you had always left alone.

>And then when the officer came in I pulled out the lieutenant's insignia plaque,< Thrawn spoke in Sy Bisti, he was in the middle of telling his story on how students had tried to get him caught gambling and in the labs without permission. You both made your way to the cafeteria for lunch >The officer didn’t know what to say.<

>I wouldn’t either,< You laugh. >How did you even get yourself in that sort of situation?<

>They were trying to get me kicked out,< He said, there was no resentment in his tone. >But then after I got Vanto and myself out of that situation outside we were both attacked in the gardens. So maybe they were trying to kill me.< He suggested to himself.

>And Vanto thought it was me to be careful of?< You realised the hypocrisy of it. >What happens to the ‘vigilantes’ surely they must have been punished.<

>I suggested they be sent to Skystrike.< He tells you as you round the corner.

>How did you manage that?<

>Deenlark asked me how I thought they should be punished and I said to send them to Skystrike.< He shrugs.

>Gees, I guess Deenlark doesn’t hate you as much as you say he does.< You note as you approached the cafeteria.

>I guess so.< He agrees, grabbing a tray from the start of the service line, there was a self-serving food cabinet to the right. All of the food was from MREs, stuff like spam and dehydrated vegetables they had added water to.

>Wait,< You hold a hand in front of him, >Are you sure your friend, Vanto, is okay with me sitting with you guys?< Thrawn smiled at your question. 

>Eli is defensive, not mean.< He used a ladle to serve himself some re-hydrated goo. You sighed, trying to calm the anxiety in your stomach. You were just sitting with your friend’s friend, not meeting your partner’s parents. You nabbed a pudding cup and a spoon, deciding you didn’t want any spam today.

When Thrawn was done filling his own tray, you both walked over to where Eli sat alone at a table in the back of the cafeteria. Thrawn placed his tray down on the table across from Eli and you pushed your anxiety down to the bottom of your stomach.

“Y/N Tarkin,” Thrawn introduced you, though Vanto probably already knew your name.

“Eli Vanto,” Eli offered his hand, he had a thick accent, like something out of one those Tatooine bandit movies you used to watch with your brother when he was home. You took his hand and shook it curtly before sitting down next to Thrawn. 

>I told you to be careful with her.< Eli hissed at Thrawn in Sy Bisti. Thrawn glanced sideways at you.

>I’m not dangerous,< You said whilst pulling the lid of the pudding cup. >Oh, wait, I forgot the bomb strapped to my chest,< You deadpan, one eyebrow raised at him. Eli fell quiet, a look of shame on his face. >It’s alright, don’t feel bad.<

“I am sorry.” He said in basic, but his accent was so blatant. You pulled your legs up so you could sit cross-legged. 

“Are you in my aviation class?” You ask and he nods.

“I am.”

“Gosh, isn’t he so boring,” You smile, “Yesterday’s lesson on ‘how to minimise drag’.” 

“‘First of all you can’t minimise drag’.” He said in a posh accent mimicking the professor and making you laugh.

“‘Now that we covered that, I’m going to teach you how to use that drag to your benefit’.” You said in the same accent and soon you were both laughing while Thrawn looked at between you like he didn’t have a clue what you were talking about.

“Oh kriff, and that student in the front row? ‘But sir, what is drag?’.” You giggled.

“The professor was so frustrated.” He laughed.

“Alright. I wanna hear the rumours about me because it seems everyone knows about them but me.” You stop laughing and Eli’s face falls sober.

“Are you sure?” He asked and you nodded. “Okay, well there’s tones of ones about you sleeping around, a few about you being a mass murder, but the reason everyone is so scared of you and your family is that your father killed all the Atoans because they killed his son.” 

“Oooo, that one’s true, I haven’t killed anyone though.” You shrug.

“Wait, that one’s true?” He asked and you nodded.

“Yeah, that’s why I’m here,” You gestured at the building surrounding you. “Because he was sent a threat from the Atoans.”

“Why tell me?” He asks.

“ _ Bokha ebangana nabi izihimba _ , let’s not be strangers.” You repeat to Eli what Thrawn had told you earlier. Beside you, Thrawn smiles.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know this part is short. Get over it.

“In here again?” Thrawn asks. He stood in the doorway of the training room, just like he had the last time you had run into him in the gym.

“Care to join me this time?” You dismiss his question with one of your own, spinning the staff you had in your hands. He glances at the weapon, cocking your head you threw it to him as if to confirm your suspicions. He caught it easily with one hand. 

“You know my father used to say that ‘A knife was personal, a blaster was just business, a stick or staff was training, no weapon meant they didn’t have one, they didn’t need one or they were overly cocky and a lightsaber, that was what everyone would choose, but those who resisted the temptation of choosing a lightsaber won the battle’.” You finish, he was looking at you with interest.

“Your point?” He asks.

“You were trained to use a staff.”

“Everyone on my planet was trained to use a staff, my people are not a peaceful race.” He sighs, leaning the staff against the wall. 

“When my father told me that I asked ‘what if they’re a Jedi?’, he just laughed and told me that the Jedi were a myth,” You stare slightly off into space in thought. “But Vader seemed an awful lot like a Jedi,” You thought aloud, then you purposely broke your train of thought. “Hand-to-hand or with staffs?” You asked, gesturing to the staff you had thrown at him.

“Hand-to-hand.” He answered.

“Fun.” You smiled and he threw his towel and bottle to the floor, then he walked over to the mat where you stood.

You made the first move, a sweep of the leg, aiming for his feet. He stepped back, out of the way as if he was anticipating that, but his reaction left you enough time to get back to your feet. It was his turn next, he lamely punched at your side, without thinking you grabbed his arm and kneed him in the stomach. He grunted, grimacing slightly as he grabbed your shoulders and pulled you towards him so you couldn't make a move. His fingers dug into your muscle and you growled, he dealt a swift blow to your shins. Your legs buckled and you fell to the ground. You rolled to the side, using your knees to push you to a standing position. Trying not to think too much about the next move you aim a kick at his head, he blocks with both his hands, leaving his stomach unprotected. The next kick is aimed for his stomach. The force of it pushes him back a few steps, but he recovers quickly. From where he was standing, a metre away from you, he tucked himself into roll. Before you could move he grabbed your waist and pulled you to the ground. In a struggle for vantage, you twisted and grabbed his neck in a headlock. He throws his head back against yours, the impact of it makes and it hits you see black in the corners of your eyes. You recognise your mistake, moving a hand to the back of his head. 

He goes limp and you lose your hold on him. Thrawn twists beneath you, with your surprise he had the perfect opportunity to throw you on your back. The air in your lungs escaped as soon as your back hit the mat. You barely had enough time to draw a breath in before Thrawn pushed his forearm against your neck. As a natural response you tilted your head back, he lets his guard down for a second, expecting you to tap out. Using his lack of preparedness to your advantage you lift your legs between you, pushing your knees against his stomach. You manage to throw him off you and he recovers on at a standing position. You throw yourself to your feet, lifting your hands to your face in a ready stance. Now he makes the first move, a powerful kick aimed at your stomach. You block it with your elbow, he twists and kicks again with his other leg. You block his other kick, he left his right side wide open. You throw his leg away, then you throw all your strength into a harsh kick, aimed for his stomach. He stumbles back a few steps, he touches a finger to his nose, it comes away with blood on it. Unfazed he wipes it away. When he looks back up at you several strands of his hair fall into his eyes, there's a cut on his lip and a wry smile playing there.

He begins to walk at you, but the adrenaline was making everything seem ten times slower. His next move was to grab your waist and shove his foot in between your legs. He then kicked your ankle several times until you fell. Unwilling to lose, you placed your hands on either side of your head and threw yourself up. You land behind Thrawn, giving you the perfect opportunity to twist and kick his back. He stumbles forward, then whips around to face you, his eyes glowing. You move back into a ready stance in time for him to crouch and kick your shins. You fall to the side, but roll in time to recover. This time you didn't move back into the ready stance, as soon as you were on your feet again you kick his thigh. He doesn’t react apart from a grunt, he does react when you grab his shoulder and punch his ribs. He grunted, but still grabbed your shoulders and drove his knee into your stomach. The copper taste of blood floods your mouth as a thick liquid covers your tongue. Before he could bring his knee up again you let go of his shoulder, giving you the perfect opportunity to bring your upper arm down on his elbow. His arm crumpled, releasing your left shoulder. Using his other shoulder as leverage you throw yourself into his arms, not expecting your weight he falls to the mat.

You land on top of him, your thighs on either side of his waist. You push your forearm against his throat, mirroring how his arm had been at your throat. He lifts a hand, but instead of punching your side, he taps your shoulder three times. You release his throat and he inhales sharply. You try to steady your breathing, it was then you realised you were still on top of him.

“Oh sorry.” You apologised you began to move off him but he grabbed your waist.

“Wait… I…” He trails off, not knowing what to say. You bite the bullet and kiss him. Your lips melting into his. He moves one of his hands from your waist to your jaw as he pushes his tongue into your mouth, making you moan against him. He flipped you both over, his mouth never leaving yours. You thread your fingers through his hair, the strands soft against your skin. He had his forearms on the mat beside your head. He pulled his mouth away from yours, dragging his lips down your neck. You tugged lightly at his hair, he groaned softly at your reaction.

Suddenly the lights to the gym turned off, leaving you both in the dark. He huffed, then you giggled and soon you were both laughing.

"We… We should go," You laugh, he presses a few more kisses to your neck. 

"I guess as should," He agrees. "Can I walk you back to your room?"

"Gentlemanly," You comment and he smiles against your neck.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I haven't got a stupid summary, guys. I'm all out of stupid things to say.

Eli groaned pulling the pillow over his ears to try and block out the Imperial Song. He stayed like that until the anthem was over then hesitantly he removed the pillow from his ears and glanced around the room with sleepy eyes. The Chiss's bed was made, it always surprised Eli how his friend managed to get rid of all the creases in his sheets, yet he was met with the sight every morning. Thrawn himself was already awake and dressed in his uniform. Shaking his head at Thrawn's preparedness Eli sat up, the blanket pooling around him.

"Good morning." Came Thrawn's voices, he didn't sound tired at all, it was as if he hadn't just woken up.

"Where were you last night?" Eli's own voice was coated with sleep.

"I sparred with Y/N Tarkin, then I walked her to her dorm." He replied. 

"Oh." Was Eli's tired and short reaction. 

"You should dress, you are often late," Thrawn said, Eli nodded whilst yawning.

"I should," He agreed, sweeping his legs over the bed. "I don't want to though." He muttered more to himself. 

Eli made his way to the bathroom, pulling his arms up in a stretch on the way.

"What happened?" Eli asked. Thrawn didn't glance up. 

"We trained in the gym, she bested me," He said, though the story seemed incomplete. 

"That's it?" Eli asked shoving a toothbrush in his mouth. 

"Yes," Thrawn furrowed his eyebrows in silent question. "What more could there be?" He asked.

"I dunno," Eli said walking back out with the brush in his mouth. "Anything else?" 

"There is not," Thrawn said again, Eli shrugged, deciding to leave it alone. 

It took Eli the full hour he had to be ready for the morning inspection. The man that threw the door open was clearly about to burst with anger, his face was the sort of red that indicated a heart attack and his belly looked as if it was being choked by his belt. 

"Urghmfh." He grunted, not even bothering to look at either of them as his eyes swept the room. Then he turned to Thrawn, narrowing his eyes and almost comedically he whipped around, strolled out of the door and slammed it behind him. They both waited for a second, still standing in attention, then another second until they were sure that he wouldn't burst into the room again. 

"Whew," Eli let out a breath of air. "I hate that man." Thrawn hummed in agreement. 

"We should go to breakfast."

"Will your crush be there?" Eli teased, Thrawn cocked his head in confusion and Eli shook his head. "Nevermind." He groaned.

"A pudding cup? Again?" Eli asked as you dug the spoon into the soft food.

"Don't knock it till you try it," You shrug, "Besides have you tried the spam?" Eli lifted his spoon, it was covered in the brown sludge.

"You're not proving the point you think you are." You said in defence, he smiled.

"I think I am." He says. 

Breakfast was over sooner than you realised and you and Thrawn said your goodbyes to Eli before waking to your shared Physics class.

"Turbolasers in a non-combat situation, huh?" You ask, he doesn't say anything, one of his hands was on his chin, the stance you recognised as his 'thinking stance'. "You okay?" 

"Yes," He says, though when he said it he wasn't fully present. "It's just Eli said something to me this morning." You paused for a second waiting for him to continue, but he doesn't say anything. 

"Wanna tell me what it is?" You ask and he turns to you. 

"Sorry? Oh, he said we only had a short time left at the academy." He said, his eyes glowing slightly. 

"Why?" Was your curt reply. 

"Why what?" He asked. 

"Why are you thinking about that?" You prompted and for a moment he seemed… Embarrassed? 

"It's just short, and then," He stopped mid-sentence, you smiled at him, realising what he couldn't manage to get out. 

In silent comfort you brushed your shoulder against his, he inclined his head slightly as if he was savouring the touch. The lecture hall was a few feet in front of you, two stormtroopers 'stood guard' outside the door. It was Imperial regulation, though you weren't sure why since no one at the school seemed to be a terrorist and both didn't carry weapons of any sort or none that you could see. Neither of them looked at you or Thrawn as you neared the hall, however, one of them did open the door for you. As you walked into the room you smiled sweetly at him in thanks, Thrawn, on the other hand, muttered a 'thank you'.

A red carpet stretched down to a wooden stage, the seats themselves were also wooden, a step up from the cafeteria, hallways and dorms, though this was the only class you had that was furbished like this, the rest used tiny metal chairs. You and Thrawn slid into the back of the lecture hall for the reason that it was your preferred spot since no one could really see it, both you and he had brought standard supplies; a pen and paper for notes. Within a short time, a middle-aged man took place at the front of the class and began setting up for the two-hour lecture. You took a deep breath in preparation for the intense boredom.

The professor gestured to the holoscreen he was in the middle of his lengthy explanation of the use of turbolasers in a non-combat situation, the first half of the lecture was over leaving an hour to go. It was then that you realised that perhaps you didn't get enough sleep, Thrawn's eyes were trained on the lecture, his legs were crossed with his calf balanced on his knee, he had his pad of paper in his lap and a pen in his hand. You tried to stifle a yawn but were unsuccessful, he had noticed your fatigue though he had failed to acknowledge it. In one smooth movement he moved his arm around your shoulders, you didn't even realise the implications of such an action, you simply rested your head against his shoulder. 

Another side benefit of having fewer eyes on you was the back of the lecture hall couldn't be seen by both the professor and the troopers at the doors, giving the space added privacy. You didn't even try to stifle the next yawn, that was when he turned away from the lecture, smiling down at you. Your eyes were getting heavy and though you fought against it you were struggling to keep them open.

The lecture was over when you woke up, you were tucked into his side, he smiled at you.

"You slept through the lecture." He said as you sat up. 

“Very observant.” You smiled back, quickly kissing his cheek before anyone could see.. 

“A quality of the Chiss,” He replied as the contents of the hall began to file out. 

"We should go." You suggest. 

"Indeed," He says with a nod. "Perhaps you can take a nap." He adds with a smile, you lightly shove him as you leave the room, though his suggestion was one you very much wanted to do. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, um... I dunno? I think this is romantic?

It became routine to sit with Thrawn and Eli, whether it was in meals or class.

"She should just stop talking." You hid your face in your hand. 

"I think they're sleeping together," Eli said from beside you. "He keeps looking at her like she's a meal."

"I'd rather eat her than the MREs." You shrug and he laughs. 

"All you eat are pudding cups." He nudged you.

"Hey, I occasionally have the mushy green thing with the hard orange pieces." You defend. 

"Have you tried the sort of dark green one? That's the best one." He tells you and you nod slowly.

"I wouldn't know, just eat pudding cups." You smile.

"Where were you before here? You know since you came here halfway through graduating year." You ask genuinely. 

"Um… Myomar," He says hesitantly.

"Expansion Region?" 

"Yeah," He says quietly. 

"I'm not judging, my homeworld is in the Outer Rim." You furrow your eyebrows, noticing him getting defensive. 

"Yeah, but your father's  _ Grand Moff Tarkin _ ." He stared at you. 

You huff a sarcastic laugh, "Trust me, he is not who you think he is."

"I think he's powerful and that people wouldn't dare discriminate against you."

"What were you training to be on Myomar?" You change the subject. 

"Supply Officer." He says curtly and you blow air. 

"Woah, you are off track." You laugh. 

"Tell me about it. I think I'm stuck as Thrawn's 'assistant'." Resentment was thick in Eli's voice. 

"Can't be too bad, I mean you got to taste rich people MREs." You nudge him and he smiles again. 

"I suppose you're right." He agrees, turning back to the lecture. 

"I suppose so." You trail off.

The garden outside the academy housed some of the most beautiful flowers you had seen since your father’s garden on Eriadu. In the centre of the grounds was a maze, flowers covering each wall.

>You cannot see the stars on this planet.< Thrawn pointed out in Sy Bisti as you walked through the garden.

>No, but you can see the sunset and the lights from the buildings kind of make up for it.< You point out, he nods. 

>I guess, I miss being able to see the stars.< His fingers slide beneath a flower, his thumb brushing over the petals.

>You get what you get and you don’t get upset,< He looks at you inquisitively. >My mother used to say it.< You add, he plucks the flower its stem and holds it briefly under his nose. 

The whole garden was full of flowers in so many different colours, there were no stars on Coruscant, but the flowers made up for it. You continue your slow walk further into the garden to, unintentionally, a more secluded spot. You pass under a bushy arch, large white flowers cover it. 

>Do you have flowers on your planet?< You ask and he shakes his head.

>No, Csilla is an ice planet, but the planet I was stranded on was not. It had beautiful flowers, though it was often too warm for my taste.< He says, sweeping his fingers over the white blossoms on the arch. 

>Stranded?< You raise an eyebrow with interest. He glanced around at the maze with what seemed almost like paranoia.

>Eli thinks I was exiled,< He starts, his shoulder lightly brushing yours.

>Sounds like there’s more.< You push your shoulder against his.

>There is,< He picks another flower from the bush. >My Government, the Chiss Ascendancy, they told me that the Empire was gaining strength and that could prove a danger to Csilla. So I enlisted.<

>Sounds dangerous,< You kiss his cheek. >Why tell me this? Not Eli?< You ask.

>You hate the Empire, Eli does not,< He takes your hand, pulling you into him. >But he does not know about this. Eli thinks I was exiled.<

>I got it, don’t tell him.<

His hand takes yours, the flower still in it, his other hand moves up to cup your cheek as his mouth moves against yours. You smiled into the kiss, your fingers sliding into his hair, messing the neatly gelled strands. He drops your hand, wrapping it around your waist and pulling you more flush against him. Through the kiss, he gently pushed you back until your back was touching the bush. You tug at his hair and he groans. He pulls his lips away from yours, kissing the corner of your mouth, then your neck. He sucks on your pulse point making you moan and fist his hair.

“Let’s not have sex in a bush.” You breathe and he smiles against your skin.

“Let’s not,” He agrees, giving you one last sweet kiss. “Can I walk you back?”

“Again? Such a gentleman.” You smile, dragging him in for one more kiss.

“Only for you.” He gives you one last kiss before pulling away.

“Gees, in the garden?” Eli asks and you nod. “Wait, nevermind, I don’t want to hear.”

“Yeah, beneath that arch thing with the white flowers.” You smile in reminiscence, Eli scrunches his face up. "No…. You think, gees, Eli!" You laugh when you realise what he thought you were talking about. 

"What? You said it! Not me!" He said as the professor carried on with his lecture.

"I did not. You inferred." You accuse back. 

"Sure," He rolled his eyes, "Cause that's what I did."

"Do you ever wonder how we pass the tests?" You ask and he shakes his head. 

"Not really, besides we only have a month left before we graduate." He shrugs. 

"Don't remind me. I don't want to join the Navy." You pout a little and he laughs quietly. 

"What about ISB? It's not the Navy." He suggests, his eyebrows raised.

"Maybe… Your turn, what do you want to be?" You ask.

"A Supply Officer, but that's not really on the cards anymore." He sounded sad, but his face didn't show it. You nudge him softly.

"Combat?" You propose and he smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "I reckon you could get somewhere."

"Yeah, I always thought I was going to be a Supply Officer," He sighs, "With my family owning a shipping business I wanted to follow in their steps, but then we landed on the planet Thrawn was marooned on."

"Yeah, that sucks," You agree, "I went through hours of dance and those stupid 'womanly classes' just to end up here."

"Womanly classes?" Eli asks a look of interest on his face, his lips curving into a smile. 

"You know, back straight, eat quietly, the number of forks that should be on a plate." You shrug.

"Gees, how many forks?" He asks. 

"I dunno, like eleven or something. I don't pay attention in this class, what makes you think I pay attention in those?" You smile, he laughs and then the professor looks straight at you in silent message for you to shut up. Eli tries to stop himself from giggling, but he's unsuccessful and soon you're laughing quietly along with him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here lies the next chapter. 
> 
> Yeah... That's all I have to say.

"Tatooine?" Eli asked.

"No. But Nal Hutta." Thrawn answered.

"How have you been to Nal Hutta, but not Tatooine?" Your brow furrowed at the weird choice of destinations.

"Never had a reason to." Was his simple reply. 

"Okay, Naboo." You voiced it as more of a command than a question, though he didn't seem to take notice. 

"I haven't, but I have met Padme Amidala." He told you. 

"Padme Amidala?" Eli asked as if he didn't believe his friend. 

"Yes," Thrawn said, not seeing the hype. 

"Rumor has it she didn't die and she and the child she had are back on Naboo." You said as if it was a scary Story and Eli let out a small ghostly noise. 

Thrawn wasn't amused, but you and Eli found your joke incredibly entertaining. With a sharp inhale you turned back to the homework in your lap. It was from the class you had slept through, Thrawn had told you what the assignment was, however, he had been resistant to informing you of the answers. Thrawn's intense gaze was focused on the book in his hand, it was from a class you didn't recognise, but he glared at the words on the page with the same focus he had during the 'fight' you had in the training room.

"Wait," You broke the sudden silence, "During riots of any kind turbolasers are not advised right?" You point with your pen at Thrawn, he tears his gaze from his book. "I slept through the lecture." You reasoned. 

"No, they can quickly escalate the situation into something more violent." He said, sliding his fingers over the pages to save his spot. 

"Ahh," You said, then added under your breath, "I could have guessed that." Eli cast a look sideways at you, his features twisted in amusement, Thrawn also smiled. 

"Hey guys, I've gotta take off," You said after a moment, Eli pouted slightly at the statement. "I've got a test in the morning." You shrugged, trying to hide the small warm feeling in your heart at the prospect of someone missing your company. Thrawn sat his book aside as you began to group your belongings together. 

"I can walk you." He offered. You had begun to consider waking people to their dorms was part of Chiss culture as Thrawn seemed to always offer to walk you home. 

"That would be nice." You smiled, now trying to hide the warm feeling at the fact someone liked your company enough to walk you down a gross grey corridor just to spend time with you. Though Thrawn had voiced it as a question he was already gathering some of your books to carry before you answered in the affirmative. 

"You know it is weird that you have been to Nal Hutta but not Tatooine." You bring up the earlier topic for conversation. 

"I'm afraid I don't see how." He shrugged. 

"Everyone has been to Tatooine." You said like it was obvious. 

"Have you been to Tatooine?" He asked and you narrowed your eyes at him. 

"That's not fair, my father treated me Rapunzel, but without the part that the witch actually somewhat loved Rapunzel." Thrawn cocked his head at the reference, momentarily confused before coming to the conclusion that the reference wasn't worth asking about. 

"So why do you love walking me places?" You ask and he turns his glowing eyes on you. 

"I believe it is an act of respect is it not?" 

"It is," You nod slowly as the door to your room came into view. "Hey this is crazy, but you wanna stay a small portion of the night?" You asked with the courage you had been building since you left his dorm. 

A small smile found it way onto his face, the small amount of emotion he showed said a lot more than words would. You smiled your own smile, expressing a lot more emotion than Thrawn would have. You stood outside your door for a second, waiting for the lock mechanism to recognise your face, within a second the door gave a click and slid to the side. You stepped into the room, throwing your books on the desk, the door slid shut behind Thrawn and he placed his own stack of your books on the desk before turning to you, a flash of lust in his eyes. You were the one to close the gap between you, pressing your lips to his in a chaste kiss.

In one smooth motion, Thrawn threw his shirt on the floor then moved his hands back to the hem of your shirt, easing it up over your head and throwing it to join his. He moved his hands back to your waist. His lips on yours and his hands on your hips, you moved backwards slowly, your hand feeling blindly for the light switch. It took two seconds for the backs of your legs to his the bed and for him to push you back onto the mattress. Without even breathing he was back on you, undoing the string on your pants, you were loving what he was doing to you, every bit of it.

“I need you.” His voice is husky as he kissed you shortly, but repeatedly. It suddenly registered that he said 'need'. Not want. Need. You kicked your pants off, his lips melted into yours once more before he removed himself from the embrace and pulled his trousers off. You pulled the covers back as he kissed you again, this is time it was gently, less rushed and backed by love. He eased your head back to the pillow through the kiss. His hand intertwined with yours, his finger threading in the cracks. Your fingers slid into his hair, the strands loose and soft. His tongue moved against yours in a sensual dance. 

He pulled his lips away from yours, planting kisses down your neck, then down your boob to your nipple, inching lower and lower until,

"Oh god." You moaned, your hand becoming a fist in his hair. He dragged his tongue over your clit making you squirm beneath him. He pushed a finger into your core, curling it to better reach your g-spot. He was fueling your arousement as he added another finger, curling that one too as he moved then in and out. You were lightly pulling at his hairs now, gasping every time he grazed your sweet spot. His tongue was still on your clit, playing sadistically with it as your back arched. He added a third finger to the mix, making you moan loudly. Then suddenly he pulled away, his mouth was on yours again, you could taste yourself on him. 

He reached a hand between you lining himself up at your centre. He slid inside you slowly, careful not to hurt you with his size. The pain of your pussy stretching to accompany him was almost too much, he stayed still for a few awhile as you adjusted, though his eyes focused on your stomach. When you looked down in interest of what had caught his attention for so long you realised what had caught his attention, a bulge had formed from the size of his dick. He placed his palm over it, pushing down lightly, the action made you moan and, in turn, made him drag his eyes from your stomach to your face contorted with pleasure. He waited a few more seconds for you to be ready until you started fucking yourself on him, moans spilling from your lips. 

He kissed you deeply to quiet the obscenities leaving your mouth as he began to thrust, his hips snapping to yours at a steady pace, you met his every movement with one of your own as you chased your orgasm. He buried his face in your neck as you fisted his hair. You slid your hand between your bodies, moving your fingers in circles around your clit, back arching in pleasure. He moved his lips back onto your neck, burrowing his head in the crook of your neck as the pleasure built up in him. You gasped as he hit your sweet spot, your fingers began to move faster, you were on the verge of coming. He thrusts became faster and more erratic as he neared his own orgasm. You moaned loudly, your back arching up into him as the wave of pleasure from your release hit you, your walls clenched around his dick as you dragged your nails down his back. He let out a moan as he pushed himself further into you in sweet release.

He pulled out of you, still breathing heavily, he stayed with his face buried in your neck for a few moments. You ran your fingers through his hair, trying to steady your heartbeat, his breath warm on your neck. Slowly he began to trail kisses back to your mouth, each one gentle and loving as he climbed off you, settling beside you on the bed. He gathered you in his arms, tightening his grip around you, you buried your face in his chest, breathing him in as if to savour the moment. His head was resting on top of yours and your legs were intertwined with his.

"Stay the night." You murmured. 

"I will." He promised, pressing a kiss to your forehead.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just quick FYI, Eriadu is Tarkin's homeworld.

Just before four in the morning Thrawn slipped out of the door, trying to be as silent as possible and made it back to his own room. The light inside his dorm was one, Eli sat up in bed, a book in his lap. 

"You're back." The younger man accused, his eyes narrowing fractionally, though his tone was joking. 

"I am," Thrawn agreed innocently and Eli pulled the covers more tightly around him against the sudden draft in the room due to Thrawn opening the door.

"You are and at 4 in the morning," Eli added. 

"Yes, why are you up at this hour?" The Chiss countered.

"I couldn't sleep," Eli said briskly, "You're avoiding my question." 

"I spent the night with Y/N, have you slept?" Thrawn pushed. 

"Yes," Eli protested. "You haven't though," He snickered quietly as a sudden wave of fatigue hit him and he shut his book and moved more into the bed. With an unstifled yawn, Eli muttered "Night." and drifters off to a pleasant sleep. 

"You know what tomorrow is?" Eli asked as he sat down at the table. 

"Graduation." You and Thawn said at the same time. 

"Graduation," Eli confirmed, "And my family are coming." He says taking a bite of the sandwich. 

"Sounds like a big deal." You said Eli hadn't said much about his family, except that they lived in Wild Space so the journey from there to here was long.

"It is," Eli agreed. "Is your father coming?" He asked. You grimaced, shaking your head. 

"No, I don't want him to though." You frown. 

"Is he really as bad as the rumours say he is?" Eli asked and you nodded. 

"I guess? I dunno we don't really talk anymore, it's been three years since I spoke to him, but more importantly, why are you eating a sandwich for breakfast?" Eli jabbed a finger at you.

"All you eat are pudding cups." You lifted your tray, on it was toast and something that looked like beans. 

"I was feeling spontaneous," You smiled, "No pudding cups." Thrawn smiled from beside you.

The next day came faster than you expected, Eli's parents had come and that had left you and Thrawn somewhat alone. He, like you, wanted a walk in the garden.

“You know, not to get all sappy, but this might be the last time we can actually see each other.” You turn to him, a flash of sadness crossed his face, if you had blinked you would have missed it. He paused momentarily just past the arch with the white flowers. 

"I will miss you." He said, lifting a hand to his cheek, careful not to ruin his hair. He lowers his head to yours, letting his lips graze yours gently. 

The kiss is short and sweet, he’s careful not to ruin your uniform and his hand is soft against your cheek.

“I wish to meet Eli’s parents.” He says.

“Oooo, me too.” You took his hand while you were still in the privacy of the bushes. He smiles down at you, inclining his head for one more kiss. You pass under the arch with the beautiful white flowers and drop his hand, you both move a respectable distance away from each other. He puts his hands behind his back and you stuff yours in your pockets. Eli was talking with his parents in the courtyard a couple of hundred metres away, both his mother and father had looked up from their conversation to glance at you.

“They are wary of us.” He says to you, his voice low. 

“How can you tell?” You ask.

“They look at us every few seconds, their stance has changed, they are both more closed off and defensive.” He says without skipping a beat.

“Damn you got all that from a couple of looks,” You marvel and he nods. “Sexy.” You added to yourself as you slowly near the 'Vanto family meeting’.

“Hmm?” He asks and you turn to him.

“Nothing,” You quip, “Well I suppose they have a reason, I’m Tarkin’s daughter and you’re an alien.” You note though it was unlikely he didn’t already know that. He hums in agreement.

“Many stories are told of the Chiss, not all are pleasant,” He frowns, though his tone is its usual calm. “Have you heard of the stories?” He adds rather suddenly.

“Some, my family is from the Outer Rim and rumours get around.” You let your shoulder brush his, “The stories describe the Chiss to be cold, without emotion and ruthless killers.” You and Thrawn descend the steps to the courtyard, getting ever closer to Eli’s company. 

Eli’s father said something hurriedly to Eli and his mother, Eli shook his head firmly.

“Moment of truth,” You whisper before turning to Eli’s family, a smile on your face.

“Good Afternoon.” Thrawn greeted them. “You are Ensign Vanto’s Parents, of course.”

“Welcome to Coruscant.” You pull your hand from your pocket and extend it to Eli’s father, he takes it and gives one firm shake.

“Thank you.” Eli’s father seemed nervous, whereas Eli’s mother seemed blatantly curious. “You are… Uh…” He stammered slightly.   
“I am Lieutenant Thrawn.” That was the first time you heard him address himself that way. “And this is Ensign Tarkin.” He nodded towards you.   
“You’re a… You’re really a Chiss?” Eli’s mother asked, you instinctively narrowed your eyes at the vaguely inappropriate topic of conversation.

“I am,” Thrawn confirmed. “And I am aware of the stories about the Chiss. Not all of them are accurate.”

“But some of them are?” Eli’s father seemed to have shaken his earlier hesitation and was now in a trance of some sort. “May I ask which ones are…?” He asked carefully.

“Dad!” Eli exclaimed, his face turning red. 

“Only the most flattering one, of course,” Thrawn said with a charm you had no idea he possessed, a small smile was on his face. “Even when false the Legends tell a lot about the ones doing the remembering.” The way he says it and the words themselves sound almost threatening.

“What about you dear?” Eli’s mother turned her gaze on you, she had a sweet voice. “Your father is Grand Moff Tarkin?” She asks, you cock your head to the side.

“He is,” You nod, “I see he is more well known than I thought.”

“Will he be joining us?” She asked and Eli winced slightly at your question, he had picked up on the fact your father was a sore subject rather quickly. You calmly shook your head.

“No, I’m afraid he has more pressing matters to attend to, sorry I denied you the opportunity to meet him.” You said relief flashed over her and her husband’s faces momentarily.

“That’s fine dear, how did you and Eli become… Acquainted?” She changes the subject.

“I shared quite a few classes with him and Thrawn,” You said curtly, suddenly having the urge to leave, “I’m so sorry, but I have something I need to see to.” You lied, turning to Thrawn you added. “Will I see you later?” He nods, Eli’s parents muttered goodbyes and you left. 

From behind you, you could hear Eli’s mother comment on your brief interaction.

“I thought she would be different.” She said and Eli shrugged.

“She wasn’t going to be a rancor, mum.” He countered.

“Her father sounds like one.” His father adds and then they were out of earshot.

Almost two hours later you walked with Eli and Thrawn to the room where you were to get your assignments. How it worked as you inserted a datacard you were given at the door into a machine, the machine would then tell you where you would be posted. You tried to distract yourself away from the anxiety rattling through your brain.

“Your parents seem nice.” You said, Eli nodded.

“I guess, I’m sorry they asked about your father.” He apologised for them.

“It’s fine,” You shrugged, “I’m sure they only had good intentions.” Eli hummed as the man at the ‘booth’ handed him a card and directed him into a room. He then handed Thrawn a card and directed him into the same room, you were given a card then directed into another room, one in which you were alone. A singular machine was at the end of the darkroom, the greys of the rest of the building decorated this one too. You walked hesitantly to the machine, eyes glancing up to the camera in the corner of the room, with reluctance you interested your card into the slot in the machine. The screen lit up, a planet you recognised all too well popped up, below that was the name of the planet,  _ ISB Agent, Eriadu.  _ Your face paled and a sick feeling in your stomach appeared.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I'm introducing Kallus, he was going to be a character regardless since the story would escalate to the TV Show; Rebels and then to The Thrawn series by Timothy Zahn. Oh and the Bond Leiu guy is an OC.

_Eriadu._ Out of all the places you could've been stationed it had to be Eriadu. Eli must've sensed your fear for he stopped his argument with Thrawn and turned to you. Thrawn's gaze also trained on you, eyes narrowing. 

"An ISB Agent on Eriadu." The word escaped your lips, sealing them within your thoughts. 

"An ISB Agent?" Eli repeated. "I thought that was what you wanted?"

"Not on Eriadu." Your face regains some of its colour as you removed the card. "The Blood Crow, I am happy for you both and I guess this is goodbye. Hopefully, I shall run into you at some point in the future." You nod, turning on your heel. As you walked away you tried to keep your tears from falling. 

"Farewell Ensign Tarkin." Thrawn's calm voice sounded behind you and you made your way to your room. 

***

You remove the cardboard box from under your bed, where you had placed it three years ago. You removed your undergarments, sleepwear and activity wear. Folding each item and placing it within the box, then placing the shoes you had been given on top. The photo of your mother, father and brother smiling, your fathers note behind the photo. A tear slipped down your cheek, _pathetic,_ crying over a man you met three months ago. You didn’t love him or that was what you were trying and failing to convince yourself. Sighing you wiped your tears, gave your room one more good look while standing in the doorway. Once you were satisfied you closed the door and walked towards your ship, trying to push any thoughts of the Chiss out of your head. 

***  
  
The familiar sight of Eriadu filled your view, it was a sight you thought you would miss, but that wasn’t the case. You dreaded seeing your mother, it was stupid, but you would hate for her to see you like this. You lift your hand, and open your fist, lying on your palm was a puck. The target you had been sent here by the ISB to kill. An assassin, that’s all you were. _Eliminate this target cleanly and get promoted._ You told yourself. The Imperials had set up a place for you to stay, the assignment would only take a week at most. Then you’d receive your next orders. Simple. Or so it seemed.

***

“Hey. You must be my partner, they’re given use snipers to I guess that's the job.” You whip around, a man in his 20’s. “Oh shit, I’m Agent Alexsandr Kallus.” he smiles and you look him up and down. His was muscular, but lean, good posture and his accent told you he was from Coruscant. A Royal Imperial graduate, he looked a few years older than you, but his rank was the same.  
“Y/n Tarkin.” You reply and he sticks his hand out for you to shake.

“You the Grand Moff’s daughter?” He asks as he walks over to the cupboard, pulling out a sniper rifle.

“Yeah…” You trail off, throwing the holo-puck on the table. Causing it to light up.  
“A Rodian?” Kallus asked, a blue Rodian showed on the screen, he was about 5’6 or 5’7 and it read his name was Boud Leiu.

“Weird ass name.” You comment and he hums in agreement. “Says he is a gang leader that has been attacking Imperial shipments to Eriadu.” Kallus opened the case and whistled slightly, taking the sniper out and constructing it.

“Look at her.” He says in awe and you cock an eyebrow.  
“ _Her_ ?” You repeat and he smiles as if he was slightly embarrassed.   
“Yeah,” He hands the sniper to you and you point it out of the window.   
“Well, in that case, _she_ has a good scope.” You put emphasis on the she and he laughs.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I haven't got a summary. Thrawn will make a come back and Kallus is going to stay.

It had been a week since you had met Alex and he had become a good friend of yours. Spending every minute of every day together did that. Besides the Empire had made you and Alex partners, so you were stuck with him.

“We’ve been here for ages and he hasn’t come out of that bloody bar in days.” You complain making sure not to be too loud so as not to draw attention to yourselves.  
“Why don’t we give it a break and go get food. You haven’t left since we got here.” He points out. You couldn’t leave the room. You’d be recognised and word would be sent to your mother, just getting here was dangerous.   
“I can’t leave the room.” You admit and a look of confusion flashes over his face. Kallus was so easy to read. If he was happy it was clear if he was sad it was clear if he was angry it was clear. Thrawn had never been this easy to read.

“Why?” He pushes and you sigh.  
“Jesus Christ Alex, I thought you were top of your class. Thalassa Tarkin happens to be my mother.” His eyes widen in realisation and you nod. Sudden movement across the street cause you to kick his leg and gesture to the blue Rodian emerging from the street. Finally, the sound of the sniper going off fils the room and the Rodian drops to the ground, a green ooze spilling from the hole in his head.

“We’d better pack up and get on the next shuttle out of here.” Kallus sighs and you nod. He pulls the sniper from the window before anyone can make the connection.

“Coruscant.” You sigh and he looks to you.  
“What happened? You don’t talk much about your parents.” Alex finishes putting the gun away.   
“Kallus we’ve only known each other for a week.” You point out and he shrugs.   
“Yeah, but you’re stuck with me now!” Alex smiles boyishly. “Come on, command will be awaiting our report.”

***

An Imperial Cruiser orbited the planet of Eriadu, you and Kallus had found a shuttle to take you up.   
“Ever been aboard a cruiser?” Kallus asks, trying to make conversation.   
“No. My training at the academy was centred around combat and piloting ties. ISB stuff.” You admit, Alex had handed the sniper to a stormtrooper, being ISB meant the two of you had command over them. “After my brother, Garoche, died my father became cold. He never loved my mother, he just married her for power, but when Garoche died he hated her. Hated me too. Sent me to the academy and all that was there was a note. Saying he was _sorry_ . And that this was for my safety.” You huffed a laugh, looked at the roof of the shuttle, trying not to cry. Alex just bumped his shoulder against yours, an act of comfort. You smiled softly at him and he responded with his lopsided smile. The sound of the ship landing made you both straighten your backs, looking towards the door awaiting the opening. “How about you? Ever been aboard a cruiser?” You asked and he nodded.   
“Once.” He said before the doors opened and both of your expressions become grim. 

***

"I am Colonel Yularen." A man in a white suit greets the two of you and you felt severely underdressed in field gear. "I believe congratulations are in order." He nods to the two of you. You stand in the command deck of the cruiser an Admiral stood off to the side. _It must be his ship._ You thought, you had heard of Yularen; an admiral in the Clone Wars for the Republic, now a high ranking ISB Agent. "Agent Kallus it is good to see you again." _Alex and the Colonel were already acquainted._ You made another mental note. 

"And you," Kallus replied, his eyes not wavering from their spot straight ahead at the wall. 

"Oh for goodness sake, at ease Agents." Both you and Kallus, dropped your shoulders, eyes now focused on Yukaren's face. 

He was an elderly man, face aged with time and wisdom. His eyes gleamed as if they had seen all the galaxy had to offer. "Agent Tarkin." He addressed you and you nodded. "Top of your class at Royal Imperial, impressive. He must've done his research on you before this meeting. 

"Colonel Yularen, its an honour." You nod and he smiles. 

"The honour is all mine," Yularen assures and you smile warmly back, Alex glances at you. Just a moment before you were on the verge of tears now your voice had no shake and you smile seemed as genuine as ever. "I hear high command has made the two of you partners." Yularen commented and Kallus confirmed it with a "Yessir". 

The age gap between you and Kallus was a couple of years, nothing significantly huge, but enough for it to be noticeable. Though over the week you had taken a liking to each other, he was childish and kind, but he was also a killer. A side you hadn't seen. 

"I believe your orders are to return to Coruscant." Yularen asked, but the question came in the form of a statement. 

"Yes, sir." You nod and he looks to the admiral. 

"It's not my ship admiral." He says, "I've served my time on a ship like this and I need no more." He smiles.


	12. Chapter 12

The ship entered hyperspace, blues, whites and purples appeared in streaks. 

"You good?" Kallus had concern in his eyes, you nod. Your moment of weakness had passed. 

"So, back to Coruscant." You sigh, Kallus looked out of the window of the ship at the passing planets and stars. "How do you know Yularen?" You ask and he turns to you. 

"I was his student," Alex replied. "Top of the class." He adds quietly in a funny voice.

"I see you two have become acquainted," Yularen notes aloud and both you and Kallus moved to look at him. 

"A week together will do that." Kallus points out politely and Yularen nods. 

The ship exits hyperspace and the grey planet appeared, the lights of the city lit up space around the planet. "We're to orbit the planet, you must take a shuttle down," Yularen informs the two of you.

"I hope we get promoted," Kallus whispers to you as you make your way to the hanger.

"Doubtful, we only shot a guy." You pointed out and he sighed as if he'd been waiting for a promotion for ages.

"Yeah…" He trails off, the halls of the star destroyer were all the same and eventually, you made your way to the elevator. "If they play elevator music I'm going to kill someone." He says, trying to lighten the mood he had brought down, you huff a laugh. Alex smiles in contentment at your reaction. 

"How about a nice assignment on Naboo or Alderan?" You suggest and Kallus turns his head to look at you.

"Yeah, I'd like something hands-on though." Kallus put in and you shrugged. 

"I guess our last job was kina easy." You agree. 

***

Coruscant looked the same as it always did, you and Kallus sat outside an office on uncomfortable grey chairs, waiting for your orders. You had been debriefed by an unfit gentleman in a grey navy uniform. Alex and bouncing his leg as if he was nervous. You looked to him in silent question and he gave a small smile.  _ Something was wrong.  _ You let concern flash in your eyes, he was about to say something when the door swung open. 

"Agents Kallus and Tarkin." A man in ISB uniform stood there, his voice was gruff. 

"Sir." Both you and Kallus said in unison. He scowled and handed you a datapad. 

"There's your next assignment." The door lightly slammed behind him as he disappeared back into his office. 

"Nice guy," Alex said sarcastically and you stifle a laugh. 

"Smelt a bit like a Tauntaun." You grimace, standing from the seat. The datapad in your hands lit up. 

"So…," Kallus asks. 

"We're supposed to accompany the  _ Promise _ ." You tell him. 

"Sounds promising." His eyebrows raise and you roll your eyes. 

***

_ The Promise  _ was a small Imperial Cruiser. You weren't sure what use they had for ISB Agents like you and Kallus. Both you and he had been highly trained and this seemed a bit unnecessary. Your previous assignment had been the same. Two agents for one assassination was overboard. Besides strutting around in white uniforms didn't help anything, navy officers saw you as different. You had heard that people thought that ISB Agents thought of themselves as above everyone else to you Alex tended to stay out of their way. You were security or something, every time ship members boarded a ship or went anywhere off-ship one of you had to go with them. It was exhaustingly boring. 

"Don't you think we're a bit too good for this." You say to Alex, you were poking at the sludge on your plate. 

"Maybe it's for the best? A way to humble us?" He suggests and you groan. 

"Something better happen and soon 'cause I'm bored out of my brain." You over exaggerated as the ship began to shake. An alarm went off and Kallus fake glared at you. 

"You've cursed us." He mock huffed and you shrug. 

"At least something's finally interesting." 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a wee bit late folks, anyway here's the next part.

"The engines have been shut down." The captain informs you as soon as you make it to the bridge. “There’s someone aboard has shut it down.”    
“A rebel.” Kallus smiles and you roll your eyes. He had a weird obsession with rebels.

“Onboard?” You question and Kallus seemed to bubble with childish excitement.   
“Finally something!” He exclaimed and you nod to the captain.   
“We’ll take two techs down to the engine room. If we’re lucky he’ll still be down there.” You instructed the captain. He nods and sends a gesture to two men in navy uniform. You and Kallus walk side by side down the hallway of the  _ Promise _ , the two techs behind you. 

"You think there's a sabotager on board?" One of the techs asks and Kallus laughs. 

"I hope so." He smiles and you turn to the tech. 

"Most likely." You smile warmly, both of the men behind you looked terrified. 

"How are you both so calm?" The other tech asks and you huffed a laugh. 

"If one fears death, then one fears life." You state simply, "My father once said that to me and he hasn't been wrong." You look at Alex, the man was nearly exploding with excitement. The door to the engine room was straight ahead. You and Kallus pull out blasters, crouching by the door. He gives a nod and you hit the button for the door, it slides open and he goes in, blaster drawn and ready to fire. 

"There's no one here." He calls out and you motion for the tech to follow you in. 

"But it's been sabotaged." You note and he nods, wires had been ripped out of the console and thrown on the ground. "Dumbass. Can one of you get the security camera footage?" You ask the techs. You crouch, picking up the wires with a gloved hand. "Gloves for Imperial Navy Officers aren't standard, so there's a good chance that his fingerprints are on here." 

"Okay, I got the footage." One of the techs hands Kallus a datapad. 

"He was a lieutenant judging by the insignia on his breast, but his face isn't visible on camera, but he has blonde hair and is slightly underweight." Kallus looks at you. "I'll pull up a list of lieutenants aboard the  _ Promise _ ." He says as if he could read your mind.

"Can you fix the engine?" You ask and the techs nod.

"Lieutenant Eudak is next." He looks at you and you put on your sweetest smile before knocking on the door. 

"Lieutenant Eudak? We just have some questions." You call and the door slides open. A middle-aged man with a patchy beard appears, His frame is small and his hair is bleach-blonde. You discreetly indicate to Kallus that this could very well be the man you’re looking for. Eudak smiles nervously and begins to show clear signs of anxiety. 

"O-of course." He stammered and you pull your blaster from where you had tucked it into your waistband. Flicking it on stun and placing your finger by the trigger. "But I… Um… I have to... Um… Do this…" He mutters. 

"Yeah, huh." You pull out the blaster and his eyes go wide, he quickly turns and begins to run. Without thinking you pull the trigger and a stun shot hits his body. His limp form falls on the bed. 

"People do the weirdest shit when they're life is in danger." You laugh and he smiles. 

"Let's drag this scum to the interrogation room." He walks into the room and picks up Eudak, throwing the man’s limp form over his shoulder and strolling past you. 

***

"Did you have fun with Eudak. I know you've been longing for some excitement." You sweep a leg in an attempt to knock over Kallus. He jerks back and you roll, kicking his stomach. He doubles over and you jump to your feet. He quickly jerks away from an attempted headlock. 

"Yeah…" He says, clearly not meaning it. 

"What's wrong?" You ask as you dodge one of his punches. 

"Eudak didn't have the correct clearance, which means someone of high status must've given him clearance." He slides past you, kicking your back and making you fall forward. You tuck into a roll and quickly stand, twisting to look at him. 

"The captain?" You suggest and he adjusts his posture, straightening his back. 

"Maybe, notice how the lower levels are closed off?" He asks and you hum. 

"I thought that was odd." You comment and he nods. "What do you think they're doing?"

"I dunno." He sighs. "But I say we find out."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter to make up for the fact a skipped a day.

"This is a terrible plan." You whisper. 

"It's a great plan." He whispers back. 

"It's a terrible, terrible plan." 

"It's a great one." 

"No, it's not." 

"Shut up, it's genius." 

"Fucking liar." Your face changes into a smile. "Captain. We found the sabotager. His name is Lix Eudak." 

"Thank you, Agents." His voice is cold. 

"Actually sir, I was wondering what’s in the lower levels? We think that this sabotager might be part of something more." You ask and he tugs at his shirt collar.  _ He’s nervous _ .    
“That’s quite alright Agents, there’s nothing down there.” He says, trying to hide his desperate tone.   
“Yessir.” You nod and turn on your heel to leave, Kallus following, once you were out of earshot Kallus opened his mouth.   
“Worked like a charm, now next phase.” He smiled.

“I hate that you call it a phase.” You grumble.

Phase one had worked perfectly, trying to see whether it was the captain that was hiding something or whether you were just being paranoid. Frankly, it had just confirmed Kallus’ thoughts. Phase two was re-sabotaging the engine, a distraction so that Kallus could get into the lower levels without clausing suspicion. You hated everything about this plan, yet he seemed hell-bent on completing it.   
“Meet you on the lower levels.” He says and you nod, the two of you separate. The engine room was just up ahead

“Swear to the maker if this is his rebels I will kill someone.” You whisper under your breath. You grab a clock from your room before making your way to the engine room, quickly hiding your uniform from the camera you pull out the wires again with a gloved hand. You weren’t an idiot, you knew that if the camera saw your uniform that you would be in deep shit, the standard-issue white ISB stood out like day and night, besides, you were one of the few women on the ship, that would give you away as well and if they found your fingerprints you would be found as well. The ship’s alarms go off again and the  _ Promise _ abruptly stopped, the techs would be down here soon, disappearing into the shadows you set off for the elevator.

***

“The fuck?” You were speechless, a massive kyber crystal sat in the dock.   
“I know right, and get this, I checked it out, the captain: not the captain.” Kallus smiles widely.   
“Explain.” You ask confused.   
“Well, we knew that someone had to have let Eudak onboard and the captain looked guilty so it must’ve been him, only he’s not actually the captain, he’s a rebel.” Kallus concludes and you raise your eyebrows.   
“Are you sure?” You ask and he beams.   
“Positively. His credentials down match.”    
“They’re hijacking the crystal. That’s why they don’t want us down here, we’d get suspicious. But how many rebels are on the cruiser?” You ask yourself more the Alex.   
“We need to contact Yularen.” He says and you nod.   
“The com room. It’ll be empty. We need to find a way to dispose of the captain without alerting the crew.” You think aloud. “How many on the ship?”    
“20.” He says, “The captain, a stormtrooper squad, us, Eudak, the techs, two pilots and two com officers.”

“Okay, we can work with that. Let’s assume that one of the com’s officers is a rebel. A team of three. We get the captain to the interrogation room with Eudak, find out whether the pilots or com officers are rebels. You contact Yularen.” You instruct and he nods.   
“Y/n. Be careful.” He smiles, concern flashed in his eyes.   
“Sure mum.” You tease and he smiles. Takedown the captain. Then check the officers. Easy.

***

“Captain Dunshaf?” You ask and he nods to you as you walk onto the bridge. “There’s something you have to see to.” You put on a smile.   
“Yes, Agent?” His gruff voice answered. You were going to elaborate. You hadn’t thought this far ahead.   
“The papers of Eudak’s capture require your signature immediately.” You lie. Confusion flashes across his features before he seemed to remember.   
“Of course Agent.” He followed you into the hallway. You just outside the interrogation room when you drove your knee into his stomach, he doubled over and you whispered into his ear.   
“We’re onto you.” You say menacingly, before throwing him to the room. Straightening up you fixed your uniform.   
“Jacky?” You heard Eudak ask. So he was a rebel.   
“Got the other guy,” Kallus said, Shoving the other guy into the room. “Yularen’s just a hyperspace jump away. He’ll meet us to pick up the rebels and crystal. We have control of the ship.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LADS! I finally got over my writer's block and have finished Chapter 15. I know, I know no need to thank me for ruining your day. I'm sorry about all the time skips in this I swear it will get better.

"Congratulations." Yularen had pulled the much smaller ship into his much, much larger ship. "Command has requested your presence." He informed you.  _ Why would command be interested in us _ ? Your silent question was answered almost right away. "They believe that your find is worth an audience." Yularen smiled, the lines of his face smiling with him.    
“Thank you sir.” You speak for Kallus as well as yourself.

***

“Back on Coruscant.” You sing-song, you and Alex were walking to ISB barracks, duffel bags slung over your shoulders.   
“And to stay.” Kallus pointed out, with Empire Day coming up, Yularen had asked you to stay so he could introduce you to some of his work buddies. You didn’t know why, all you and Kallus had done was throw some guys in an interrogation room, apparently, that was worth a promotion and an audience with the elite.

***

“I grant you both the rank of First Lieutenant.” She says and Kallus’ eyes go wide.  _ Skipping a rank?  _ That was almost unheard of, especially for enlisted level ranks.   
“Th-thank you, ma’am.” Kallus manages.   
“Thanks, ma’am.” You echo, trying to hide your own shock.   
“I hope you take this rank in honour and respect.” The woman removes your old rank plaques and places new ones on. 

“So First Lieutenant Tarkin shall we go back to Barracks?” Kallus asks after the ceremony in a funny voice.

“Actually First Lieutenant Kallus, I believe a drink is in order.” You correct in the same funny voice and he laughs. “I can’t be sober during Empire Day parties full of Senators.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Kallus says in his normal voice.

***

You were on your shot and Kallus was on his fifth.

“We should- we should stop before we, uh, get hangovers.” You slur and he… giggles.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” He says as if he’s lost his train of thought before he recovers it with a gasp. “One more drink.”

“Yeah, maybe one more or three more or six more or four more or three more.” You giggle.

***

“Shit.” You whisper curse when you get up too fast, your head pounding with the beat of your heart. “How am I not dead?”

“Shh, I’m tryna sleep.” Someone said from the dark as a gloved hand reached out and patted your head.

“Kallus? Kriff what happened, how are  _ you _ not dead.” You ask as the memory of Kallus shirtlessly dancing on a table while Karaoke singing some song you had never heard before in your life hit you.

“I am dead.” He mumbles, fair enough, you felt like death so he probably felt worse.

“What time is it?” You ask as you try and fail to stand. “Shit.” You curse as the full hangover in all its glory hits you like a cruiser going lightspeed.

“Alex. I think we might be dead.” You say as you brace yourself against the door, waiting for your head to calm down.

“That’s gonna make tonight fun, I’m goin back ta bed.” He mumbles and you make your way to the bed he lay on.

“Move over.” You demand, but he makes no move, just lies there. You push him over slightly, but it doesn’t do much and you just end up curling into his side anyway, hoping the hangover would calm down before tonight.

***

You sigh at your appearance, the formal ISB uniform was a drab white colour, the belt around your waist tight and the pants stuffed into high boots… puffy. It was not a style you thought to be suiting ‘compulsory’. A knock at the metal door brought you out of your head.  
“Ready?” Kallus had opened the door without any acknowledgement from you.  
“Yeah…” You sighed, placing the cap over your neatly done hair. The cap that looked like a rancor shitted and the stylists went; ‘Kriff. It’s beautiful.’ _Shouda fired the dick._ Alex wore the same drab uniform you had on, newly polished First Lieutenant plaque above his left breast. _Oh, kriff you missed the field uniform._   
“It’s only five hours of socialising with murders and assholes and that’s just the senators.” He failed to joke. You glared at him through the mirror and he put his hands up in defeat.

“Maybe they’ll give us a medal for small talk.” He tried again as you walked to the first party.

“Kallus, shut up.”

“Kallus? What happened to our first-name basis?”

“You lost that privilege 56 bad jokes ago.”

“Awwww, you counted, that’s so sweet.”

“ _ Alex _ I’m serious, shut up.” You hiss as you push open the door to the first party, Imperial folk were all either in uniform or nicely dressed in silks and other precious materials. “Urgh, kill me already.”.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoop! Whoop! Two chapters in one night?! To disguise that I didn't post for two months?! Whoop! Whoop!

"This is Y/N Tarkin." Yularen introduces you to Thrawn and Eli. "She is one of my top agents." Eli's eyebrows raised in interest. You wore the same white ISB uniform as Yularen and your lieutenant’s plack on your breast matched Thrawn's. "This is Lieutenant Thrawn and-" 

"With all due respect Colonel I am acquainted with Thrawn and Vanto, I spent time with the both of them during our time at the academy. 

"How long will you be here for Lieutenant?" You had missed Thrawn's monotone voice, as weird as it sounded. 

"I am here for Empire Day, but I am awaiting orders." Your voice and facial expression convey no emotion. Thrawn nods at you. "Ensign Vanto." You smile. "It is good to see you." Thrawn's back stiffens at your attention to Eli. 

"And you Lieutenant Tarkin." He says, he clearly didn't want to be here, this wasn't his scene and he obviously felt uncomfortable. 

A senator at the party begins to make his way over, recognition flashes in Yularens eyes as if he knew this man. 

"Colonel Yularen!" He has an outer rim accent, it is not as severe as Eli's had been, but it was a clear indication that he was not from Coruscant. 

"Senator Renking." Yularen welcomes that man as he stops his walk to stand beside the Colonel. A silent shuffle is performed so there is more room. Your shoulder bumps lightly against Thrawn's and he slipped something into your hand. An information card. The men begin to talk of politics and Thrawn and Eli’s previous assignment, the conversation seems to go on for ages, you had to stop yourself from deeply inhaling Thrawn’s scent.

"Ahh… Arihnda." Renking beckons a young woman wearing a formal blue dress. She had been standing within his peripheral vision, but not so close as to draw attention to herself. Your back stiffened defensively, her curiosity towards Thrawn radiated off her. She had friends, a human male and female that watched her as she joins your small group. 

“Honourable Sirs.” She bowed, _honourable sirs,_ you stifled a rude laugh. Thrawn lays a hand on your shoulder as if he could tell you disliked the woman already. Your muscles stiffen then relax under his touch and you look towards him to find him looking back at you.

“Colonel Yularen was just telling me about an interesting operation the lieutenant and ensign were recently involved without in Mid Rim” Renking smiles at Thrawn and Eli. Here we go again. Thrawn’s hand drops from your shoulder if the touch had gone on any longer then it would have been perceived as more.

Introductions happen again until Yularen reaches you. This time when he introduces you, it is different. 

"And this is First Lieutenant Tarkin. A top agent within the ISB." His voice was thick with distrust towards the senator. You had heard the Yularen severed in the clone wars, something must've happened. You shook it off, you had to stop overthinking everything. Renking removes a data card from one of his pockets and slips it into her hand, whispering something in her ear.

“And now, I really must take my leave.” Renking nodded his goodbye and then Yularen turned to Arihnda.   
“If you’ll excuse us, Ms. Pryce, I have a few more people I’d like to introduce Senior Lieutenant Thrawn to before we head across Core Square to the next reception.” He said to her and she bowed in return.   
“Of course, Colonel. Lieutenants; Ensign.” And with that Arihnda left. Pretending to spot someone from across the room, you turned to the men, smiling softly.   
“If you’ll excuse me there’s someone I wish to talk to.” You say in goodbye and Thrawn gave a nod to you. You turn on your heel, walking slightly towards the group Arihnda stood currently, passing them. 

“So who are they? Who is she, who is  _ he _ ?” The woman asked. “She seemed awfully close to him.”   
“An ISB Agent.” Arihnda corrected. “And he is in trouble with high command.” That was all of the conversation you overheard.  _ Figures Thrawn would get in trouble.  _ You thought, a non-human in the Imperial was sure to get discriminated against, so Thrawn success so far was a miracle.   
“Y/N!” A voice behind you sounded and a large hand grabbed your arm.   
“Be careful Kallus, I wouldn’t want to hurt you if I thought you were a hostile.” You warn, but your tone was more on the playful side. He snorts, standing closely behind you. You glance at the different types of alcohol, a drink would be nice, but unsafe. Especially in an area with many imperial agents, you had to be responsible for your actions.    
“I hate these fancy parties. It’s not us.” He complains.   
“No Kallus, it’s not you. I grew up hosting these parties.” You correct as you turn around.   
“Right, I forget you’re royalty.” He rolls his eyes, voice slightly sarcastic. You step to the side of him, glancing around. As much as you hated admitting it, he was right. You didn’t belong here.

You made eye contact with Thrawn and his eyes narrow slightly, Kallus, he’s looking at a Kallus as an obstacle.   
“What is he?” Kallus asks seeing your gaze trained on Thrawn.   
“A Chiss and an Imperial Navy Senior Lieutenant.” You say and Kallus looks to you.   
“You seem to know a lot about him.” He presses and you make eye contact with him.   
“Yularen’s taking a liking to him.” You say simply, but it was so much more complicated than that and Kallus knew it.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in one day?! It's almost like I'm trying to make it up to you! Will this Thrawn smut convince you to forgive me?!

You turned the data card over in your hand, a building and room number were engraved on it. This was a room key, Thrawn had given you a room key. You stuck your hand out, calling for an air taxi. This was probably the dumbest, most risky thing you’ve ever done and even though your nerves were telling you not to, you so badly wanted to see him.

The building he was staying at was just like yours, level seven, room 21. You smile warmly at the woman at the desk. The one thing with lying was that you had to believe it if you believed your lie others would as well. You make your way to the elevator, luckily there was no one within the elevator, if you were to run into an Imperial Navy officer higher than the rank of senior lieutenant then you were in trouble. 

Luckily you managed to make your way to his room without any trouble.  _ Luckily.  _ You hesitated at the door procrastinating to knock, anxiety hits you like a train. Pushing the stupid thoughts out of your brain you press the card to the lock. It immediately opened, revealing Thrawn, he was still in his navy uniform, but he had no shoes or belt on. 

"I never figured you the type to do this." You say hiding your nerves behind sarcasm and humour. 

"The benefits outweighed the risk." He states as if it was obvious. 

"Or course." You roll your eyes and he stands from his seat at the desk up against the wall. His room was identical to yours and probably every room on this floor. 

“Who was the man you were with?” Jealousy glints in Thrawn’s red eyes and you stifle a laugh.

“You were jealous of Alex?” You scoff, you didn’t think he was capable of feeling… Jealous.   
“You were jealous of Arihnda Pryce and she was only curious.” He points out and you glare at him. In a fit of split-second jealousy turns to lust and he pushes you against the wall, lips on yours, his tongue sliding into your mouth. You step out of your shoes, breaking the kiss to pull his shirt off. The feeling of him hardening against your stomach sent your arousal flying. Moaning lightly you lightly grounded your hips against his. A soft groan escaping his mouth. Thrawn picks you up and you wrap your legs around his waist, your hands twisting in his soft hair. The fact that there were strict rules against this didn’t matter to either of you right now.

“You might as well get used to Alex.” You mutter against his lips, “According to Yularen, he’s not going anywhere.”   
“I don’t like him.” Thrawn whispers and you smile.   
“God, I’ve missed you.” Your grip tightens, pulling slightly at his hair, urging him to the bed.

He sits on the bed with you in his lap, he quickly removed your belt and shirt, hands back to your hips as your fingers quickly undid your bra. Thrawn moved his mouth to your neck, kissing the skin there like you had done the first time you were together. His lips traced your pulse point and you threw your head back, a moan escaping your lips. 

You untangle your hands from his hair to undo his pants, slipping your hand into his boxers and placing your palm over his dick. He moaned lightly against your neck, fueling your arousal. He adjusts your position so that you were lying on the bed, he hovered above you for a second. Eyes on yours, lust filled his and yours too before he closed his eyes, mouth meeting yours. His hands were at your trousers, undoing the zip and button, then pulling them off and hastily throwing them on the ground by the rest of your uniform. Leaving you just in socks. He dragged his gaze up your body, the look in his eyes was adoration and love. Thrawn stood from the bed, pulling his own trousers and underwear off. 

Once he too was left in just socks his mouth was back on yours, his hand slipping down your waist to your hip. Then to your cunt, fingers grazing your clit. Your back arched and he realised what he was doing to you. He applied more pressure to your obvious sweet spot. A quiet moan escaped your lips, bucking your hips slightly. A small smile appeared on his lips as he drew himself away from you, mouth training from your lips to your navel. Your hands gripped the sheets, knuckles turning white as his tongue reached your folds. Your back arched and profanities escaped your lips as he licked up to your clit. You threw your head back when his tongue lingered on your clit. You moved your hands to his hair, fingers tangling in the blue-black strands. It took all the self-control you had left not to grind yourself against his mouth. 

Thrawn moved himself up, lining his dick up with your core. One thrust and he was inside you. The pain of your cunt stretching to his size filled your senses. Your face must've shown your pain because he dipped his head, kissing the corner of your mouth. A minute of painful stillness followed before you started to fuck yourself onto him. You were so close to your release, your hands slipping down to your clit, rubbing in circles. A few more thrusts and you were seeing stars. 

"Oh god." Your back arched, fingers pushing down on your clit. Thrawn was only a couple thrusts behind you, his seed shooting inside you as a moan escaped his mouth. He gave a few more thrusts, riding out his orgasm, before collapsing with exhaustion beside you. 

Heavy breathing fills the room as you and Thrawn came off your highs, you turned your head to look at him. His red eyes emitting a dim light. He wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer for a soft kiss. 

"I love you." You confess, your voice is a whisper and Thrawn nuzzles your cheek in affection. 

"As do I.'' Though he had a weird way of expressing emotions you had learnt during your time at the academy to pick up on them. You leaned in for another soft kiss, he adjusted your positions till you are spooning. You sigh with contentment as Thrawn's hand traced the lines of your body. Just like he had the first time. Your eyes began to get heavy, unable to keep them open anymore you let your body drift into a state of peacefulness. Feeling Thrawn pulls you closer as if you were going somewhere and with your next exhale sleep enveloped you. 


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WHAT?! FOUR CHAPTERS?! Wow, you really have to love me now. Just like Thrawn loves you! ;)
> 
> Yes, I regret all my life decisions.

Your eyes fly open, an arm was resting on your waist and his face was buried into your back. You took a deep breath, trying to saviour this moment of peace. It had been like this before, during your time at the academy. You couldn't stay, though you so badly wanted to, Alex would notice your absence and worry after you. That's what you kept telling yourself, whether it was true or not you didn't know. 

You turn in his embrace, cupping his cheek and softly kissing him. Thrawn looked so peaceful in his sleep. So without trying to think too much about it you remove yourself from the bed, redress and silently leave. Praying that you wouldn't run into an Imperial Navy officer. 

***

“Walk of shame?” Alex was leaning against your room door, the ISB ‘hotel’ was across Core Square from the Navy’s. You and Alex had rooms side by side on the sixth floor, room floors went by rank. The top floor was reserved for those high in rank and the first floor was for those low in rank. So your rooms on the sixth out of the 20 floors were good, but not good enough.   
“Shut up Alex.” You glared at him and a smile crept over his face.   
“It was the alien lieutenant! Do you realise how much trouble you could be in!?” He exclaims quietly, his words suggest worry, but his tone is pure amusement. “That’s how you know him.” Kallus connected the dots quickly, quicker than you thought he would.

“Alex I mean it, before the whole ISB finds out.” Your glare is more playful than threatening.   
“I hope the sex was worth it!” Alex retreated from the hallway into his room.   
“Alex that’s my room.” You correct and he emerges again.   
“Whoops, I still hope it was worth it!” You laugh at his words. Jesus Christ, what had you gotten yourself into?

The doors shut behind him, sighing you walking into your own room.  _ I love you. As do I.  _ The hell did you do that for? Now you were actually hung up on someone you couldn't be with and to make this better the words you had whispered rattled in your brain. And to make matters worse, you missed him. You actually missed him. Someone you only knew for three months, the whole situation was absurd. 

***

You and Kallus sat in the ISB’s cafeteria awaiting your orders.   
“So you and the… Chiss?” He brings up the subject from last night. You raise your eyebrows and he does the same until you give in. 

"Yeah… He's not as bad as you think." You sighed and Alex huffed a laugh. 

"This sludge is almost as bad as the stuff at the Academy." He pokes at the yellow meal the Empire seemed so enthusiastic about. 

"At least it kinda edible with that weird sauce they offer." You grimace. The food really was terrible. "I wonder where they'll station us next." 

"I heard of rebel activity in the Lothal system." He gestures with his fork. 

"Rebels?" You ask and he nods. 

"A group that takes after the Jedi or opposes the Empire I guess." He explains and you frown. 

"I've had my fair share of the Outer Rim." You sigh. "How about a job in the Mid Rim." You offer and he sets his fork down. 

"Mid Rim would be nice, but Wild Space would be better." He picks up his cup and you roll your eyes. 

"There's nothing in Wild Space, but pirates and smugglers." You complain. 

"Where is your sense of adventure Y/N?" He teases and you kick him lightly under the table. 

"Lost it when I met you." You smile genuinely. 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've made a few edits to the existing story so the reader's first mission is now on Eriadu, just because my dumbass mucked up some details, anyway here's the next chapter in Amongst The Stars. I know nothing will ever repay the damage I did after not posting for almost two months.

You had gotten orders to stay on Coruscant till further notice and to report to Yularen. Both you and Kallus had complained about this, in the safety of your Barracks of course. Coruscant was the worse place to be stationed, nothing ever happened here, no-one would dare launch an attack on the centre of the Empire’s operations, not with all the Imperials present. It would just be suicide. However, it was considered a privilege for Imperial folk to be stationed on Coruscant. Neither you nor Kallus saw it that way, to you, it was some cruel form of punishment for a crime you did not commit, Imperials stationed on Coruscant did nothing but sit around and follow people of higher rank. So when Yularen had you and Kallus accompany him, Eli and Thrawn on their "dojo quest" as Alex called it, you were ecstatic, but then came your situation with Thrawn. 

You hadn’t spoken to the Chiss since you confessed your love then left in the night, you hadn’t even seen each other since then. Kallus hadn’t pressed on what was happening between the two of you and you were grateful for that, talking about it made you feel like a teenager in love, something you didn’t have the time to do.

So you and Kallus had gone and followed Thrawn, Eli and Yularen as they conducted their investigation. Most of the time had been spent with Yularen and Thrawn asking the questions and you, Alex and Eli staying quiet behind them. Occasionally Thrawn would ask Vanto whether he noticed some detail or what he observed or you and Alex would make some joke with Alex in Sy Bisti, a language you had learnt as a child and had taught Kallus how to speak during your first mission together and during the down times you got. Alex had grown up on Coruscant, he only spoke basic and spent most of his life around the high and mighty, not much contact with non-humans or other cultures and species. So he had asked you to teach him.

Yularen didn't speak Sy Bisti, but Eli and Thrawn did since the Vanto family was in the shipping business and Sy Bisti was a trade language rumoured to have been used with the Chiss. The five of you filled into yet another dojo, probably just the same as the last thousand you had just been to. You were still unsure about why you and Kallus were required to come along on their crusade. 

As the group filed into the large space a boy on a foam mat stood. Bowing at the waist at each of you in greeting, when he spoke it was a calm voice that had found peace through combat. You adjusted the white uniform you adorned, the belt that was tightly wrapped around your waist hugged your insides, making breathing an interesting activity. 

Nevertheless, it made your body more shapely instead of the shirt hanging off your shoulders like a dead thing. Thrawn began talking with the boy, but your focus was on the groups sparring. Their technique was good, but they clearly had a lack of hand to hand combat experiences whilst your life was in the line. Their forms were standard and predictable had not yet evolved or had been modified to their body type or mental capability. A woman, Arhinda Pryce, you recognised from the party you had appeared at months ago leaned against the shelves and once the boy had left she straightened and began walking towards the group. Her gaze focused on Thrawn. 

When she spoke it was slightly louder, trying to make herself heard over the sound of combat, the conversation was a dull small talk, bits like ' _ I don't think you remember me but I was at the party with Renking _ ' and ' _ of course I remember you'  _

>She is pathetic< You growl under your breath in Sy Bisti to Alex, he looked at her in thought. 

>How so, she simply introduced herself< He justified and you narrowed your eyes at him. 

>She's falling all over his feet, she might as well be confessing her love< You retorted, Eli must've been listening in because the next minute he had opened his mouth. 

>She's just trying to climb the social hierarchy< He pointed out. >With Thrawn being a rising star and all in the military he's a fast way to the top.< Eli added in the same language. 

When Pryce's attention was drawn from the Chiss he quietly spoke. 

>She's a politician from the Outer Rim, she just wants to be big in Coruscant.< Thrawn concludes. >And this is improper, cut the chatter.< You bite your tongue in annoyance.   
>We’re the same rank you can’t order me to do anything.< You hissed and Thrawn turned his cold glare on you.   
>No.< He sighs. >But it would be in your best interest.< He… Warned?  
>Talking to me would also be in your best interest.< You warned back and he narrowed his eyes, memories of your night together coming back to him.

“Cease.” A Togorian woman comes out of the office interrupting the awkward conversation between you and Thrawn. Her fur is a golden colour and she stands on her toes. At her command, all the fighting stops leaving silence. “Good day officers of the Empire. I am H’sishi, master of the Yinchom Dojo. How may I serve you?” She purrs.   
“I am Colonel Yularen.” Yularen introduces himself. “We’re doing a routine spot check of the dojos in the district. I presume you have full records of this facility’s government contracts and bodyguard training.”   
“Of course.” Her voice has a rumble to it. “I will get them for you now.”

“Before you do, we are also interested in training for a possible new urban combat unit. I see your students are practising advanced stick fighting. I would like to observe your technique first hand.” Thrawn almost… ordered. The woman Ahrinda was with handed the Chiss a pair of sticks.

>What the hell is he doing?!< Eli asked under his breath so only you and Alex could hear you.

>Giving her an opportunity to strike him down.< You said in realisation.   
>Maker, you're right! I thought it was odd that she didn’t stop the fighting when we first came in and the boy shouldn’t have taken that long to get her.< Kallus eyes went wide in the same realisation.   
>What are you guys talking about?< Eli asked.    
>Through this fight, Thrawn is giving her an opportunity to strike him down. He thinks that she has hostile intentions.< You explain.   
>Then isn’t putting himself in the line of fire the worst idea.< Eli cocked his head slightly.   
>No.< You smirk. >It gives him the advantage.<

***

Thrawn had confirmed your suspicions of H’sishi. Then he had been deployed elsewhere and you had not spoken on the subject of your confessions. Perhaps he was drunk and did not remember or he didn’t care or he didn’t know how to say he cared or he regretted what was said or you were just being superstitious. Regardless of the matter you now had to speak with your father. The man who had  _ summoned _ you, instead of asking to see you, he had  _ summoned _ you. The man was insufferable.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The people who leave Kudos, comment and/or bookmark are saints, I hope you know that.

Both doors swung open to reveal a melodramatic room with a long red carpet leading up to a black desk and a high backed chair. “Father.” You grit your teeth.  
“Y/N, congrats on your promotion.” The Grand Moff’s tone was cold and uncaring.   
“Thanks. I assume you called me here for a reason.” You tried to push the venom in your voice down, but your anger got the better of you.

“I just had a woman named Ahrinda Pryce come in and request to be governor of Lothal.” Of course the slimy backwater rat. She and he had a lot in common. “I am sending you and your… Partner to Lothal to help… Secure illegal activity.” Of course, he disapproved of Alex.  
“Yessir.” You growl and he waved a hand.   
“Dismissed.”   
“Thank you, sir.” You hiss, the whole meeting he hadn’t even looked at you, just at the datapad in his hand. Alex was waiting for you outside the room.

“How’d it go.” He asked upon seeing your face contorted with irritation.  
“I had a meeting with Satan dressed as my father. It went great.” You said sarcastically. “We’re being sent to Lothal with Arhinda Pryce.” This time you didn't even hide the bitterness. “That bitch is now governor of a shithole that is stuffed to the brim full of criminal activity, it's almost like they’re soulmates.” You huffed an exasperated laugh. 

“So not good?” He smiled sheepishly and you sighed, taking a deep breath and trying to even your temper.  
“No. Not good.” You agreed. “It went terribly.” He slung an arm around your shoulders in an attempt at an embrace without it being obviously frat. You lean slightly into his touch as you trudged back to the ISB barracks.

***

“So now that you’ve calmed down and also ranted for an hour about your dad, what did he say?” Kallus asked and you glared at him.

“I ranted for ten minutes.” You protested and he scoffed slightly.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Could you stop saying that.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Fuck you.”

“Whatever helps you-”

“He said we’re being sent to Lothal with Ahrinda Pryce to deal with the rebel insurgent problem on the planet’s surface.” You cut him off.

“I said we should go to Lothal.” He said as if feeling the need to justify what he said over two weeks ago.

“Yeah, but you're missing an important detail, Ahrinda Pryce is Governor of Lothal.”

“Why _do_ you hate her soooooooo much?” He asks in his childish ways.

“I dunno, she sucks up to Thrawn like she’s some pathetic bitch, which she is, and now my father loves her because she blackmailed some semi-important guy.” You flop down on the bed, falling slightly in Alex’s lap.

“How are things with the Blue Fugate?” He asked sincerely and you sighed.

“Really wish you wouldn’t be so mean to him.” You scolded and he rolled his eyes.

“I was being sincere, perhaps you’d like me to not take an interest in your sex life.” He suggested and your eyes widened.

“You know, that would be nice. I dunno. I haven’t really talked to him since Empire Day and now we’re going to Lothal. I doubt I’ll ever see him again.” You said, a tad overdramatically.

***

“Packed I see.” Your father's voice echoed around the small ISB room.  
“Father. Come to see me off or just scold me for something I cannot or could not control?” You growl slightly.

“Y/N don’t use that tone with me.” He scolded harshly, though you did not take any offence to it, it was just a ‘norm’ for you.

“Why? And you can use that ‘tone’ with me?” You ask, faking innocents.

“I am your superior.” He barked and your upper lip curled in a sneer.

“Oh, that’s what we’re calling fathers now?” You speak spitefully.

“Y/N stop with this nonsense. I have come to talk with you about Kall-” He begins.

“Don’t you fucking start about Alex.” You cut in, pointing an accusing finger at him which he simply pushed away. “Why do you hate him so bloody much?” 

“He is simply holding you back, you could be Commander by now if it wasn’t for his… His meddling!” He exclaimed.

“That’s what we call it now, meddling? Why _are_ you here? You never visit, you never have, why the sudden burst of love? If you're even capable of loving.” You ask and he looks taken back.

“I came to warn you not to do anything brash, for instance like your actions with Thrawn.” He glides a hand on the desk beside him, rubbing two fingers together when his hand comes away with dust on it.

“How do you know about that?” You exclaim quietly.

“This room is much too dirty, do you ever clean it.” He dismisses your question as if you hadn’t even asked it.

“Get out.” You said, impassively. “Get the fuck out.” He looks at you, your eyes are cold, your face close to contorting into murderous anger.

“Don’t speak to me li-” He places his hands behind his back, trying to maintain a sense of professionalism, but you were too angry to even think about being civil.

“Don’t even think about giving me that shit, just get THE FUCK OUT!” You are shouting now, but your father doesn’t move an inch, just stands there as if you were a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.

“Now Y/N, I think you're overreacting.” He says as if you were some child.

“With all due respect sir, I think it’s time you leave,” Kallus says from behind your father in the doorway, he must’ve heard the shouting.

“No, I think I know how to deal with my daughter.” Your father isn’t even protesting, he honestly believes that he knew ‘how to deal with you’, the irony of it was not lost on you and was even enough to make you laugh if you weren’t so angry.

“Grand Moff, no sir, you don’t. Just leave now.” Kallus pushes and your father opens his mouth as if to say something, then shuts it and leaves. 

You wait a few seconds before almost theatrically falling to the floor. Tears slipped down your face as Kallus moved next to you on the floor, putting an arm around your shoulders and pulling you into him as you began to sob more aggressively. He said nothing, just held you as you cried, unspoken words hung in the air. Words like ‘It’s alright’ or ‘there there’, words he knew you would feel embarrassed to be told, but needed to hear. So he said them with his actions.

***

You woke during the night, your only indication of the time was the clock on the bedside table. The Imperial Barracks were almost always pitch black for a lack of windows. As you slowly came to your senses you began to realise that you were not alone in your bed. Your first thought was to panic, but as the warm figure shifted in the bed you recognised his voice as he mumbles in his sleep. _Alex_. He had spent the night with you, comfort you through your tears and then had fallen asleep beside you after your father’s surprise visit. Sighing deeply in relaxation you lie back beside him, falling asleep almost instantly.

***

“Good mornin’ sunshine, up and at ‘em, time to catch a rebel or if we’re lucky, two.” He sing-songs.

“Wow, you’re really eager to go.” You yawn, he was standing in your room, fully dressed in neat ISB Uniform, duffel bag over his shoulder. You, on the other hand, still lay in the bed, uniform wrinkled, but bag packed.

“Yeah, you're not?” He asked as you slowly rose from the bed and tried your best to un-wrinkled the uniform.

“I dunno, Ahrinda Pryce is a bit of a bummer.”

“I know, but you’ll be fine, I’ll look after you.”

“Not very reassuring.”

“What?! I'm good at looking after people." He protested and you laughed a bit. 

"Sweetheart, you can't even look after yourself. "


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So I promise this whole added a chapter every two months won't start being a thing. Like I super duper promise. Also in my defence, writer's block hit me hard and Coronavirus. Yes, I just used that as an excuse. Deal with it.

You had been on Lothal for little more than a week now, nothing had really happened and you were beginning to see a future of patrols where nothing ever happened. Alex, of course, had been a little upset at this news, but he had kept it hidden. You were sitting on the bed of his rather large quarters, a datapad in hand, scrolling through the few reports that had come in over the past few days. 

“What about this one? An adult human male, an adult female Twi-lek, an adolescent female, some alien and an old C1 droid stole a bunch of supplies.” You had your legs crossed under you and were leaning against the wall.

“Catch the ship ID?” He emerges from the bathroom, his before flattering beard morphed into mutton-chops. You wince slightly. He looked… older, not even by just a few years. Now he looked to be in his forties. This was about the newly issued helmets and as if to confirm your suspicions he placed the cold metal over his head, hiding his hair and cheeks. 

“That helmet looks ridiculous.” You muse and Alex mocks hurt.

“I think it’s quite suiting actually.” He defends.   
“And the mutton-chops?” You raise an eyebrow. 

"I like them." He said like a child and you scrunch your face up in disagreement. 

"I mean if that's what you think…" You run a hand through your hair and he narrowed his eyes. 

"You really don't like 'em?" He asks and you panic slightly, not wanting to hurt him. 

"No… I'll get used to the change." You sigh. "Though I will miss your beard." You admit and he relaxes slightly. 

"I thought it was time for a change." He runs his hand over one of his cheeks. "You know with being on Lothal for the foreseeable future." He reminds you as if you didn't whine about it every day. 

"Don't remind me." You growled slightly. "I hate that Pryce bitch and my father." 

"Don't let 'em catch you saying that then." He advises and you look to him sarcastically. 

"Alright, I like the mutton chops." You sigh. 

"YES!" Kallus punches the air in victory and you laugh. 

***

“Insurgents, huh? That sounds like a rather important matter?” You say as you shove your blasters into their holders on either side of your belt.

“Yeah, apparently they’re the same ones that have operations on Lothal,” Alex says as he pulls the breastplate one.

“Please tell me you're not going to wear that stupid helmet.” You grumble as just to your displeasure he places it over his head.

“I thought you liked the helmet.” He pouts.

“I said I like the mutton chops, something that I now regret, not the helmet, I hate the helmet.” 

“Well at least I wear some armour, aren’t you worried you’re going to get shot.” 

“Haven’t yet.” You pointed out and he raises an eyebrow.

***

“Welcome aboard Agents. The rebels are headed for the brig while quite a surprise awaits.” An officer says as you step onto the ISD. You and he followed the man in grey down the hallways of the massive ship.

***

Kallus runs at the three rebels, as you come up behind them, both you and he had troopers tailing you.

“Don’t stop!” The adult human said, “Push off now!” He says as the gravity generator turns off and you all begin to float.   
“Shit.” You curse as the same adult begins to shoot the troopers behind Kallus. He begins to shoot back as the Lasat and child fight to get in front. The gravity suddenly turns on and you all fall to the ground.

“Maybe I will get armour.” You wince, getting up and rubbing your tailbone.

“I hate to say I told you so.”

“No, you don’t.”

“No I don’t” Kallus agrees as you start to run after the rebels. The majority seems to have reached the ship, but the child, which Kallus grabs and holds in a headlock as the Lasat seems to have a mental argument before shutting the door and disconnecting the ship.

“Damn kid, they left you. That’s cold.” You laugh as the child struggles in Kallus’ grasp. “They’ll be after the Wookies, the real location of Wookies.”

“Agreed.”

***

Kallus walks in front of you as you approach the child’s cell, the door slides open and the kid comes into view. He sits on the bench, a defeated look in his eye, you almost feel… Sorry for him. “I am Agent Kallus of the Imperial Security Bureau, this is Y/N Tarkin and you are?”

“Jabba the Hutt,” He says sarcastically. “Look, I just met those guys today and I don’t know anything.”

“You’re not here for what you know, ‘Jabba’” Kallus corrects, “You’re here to be used as bait upon our return to Lothal.”

“Bait? You seriously think-”

“Oh, we seriously do, see we’ve been. Now, what’s the right way to put this? Studying this rebel cell and they’ll come back for you and then… We’ll kill them.” You state simply and the child’s eyes widen a bit, a sign of fear. Kallus brushes some dust off the child's shoulder then you both leave the kid in shock.

“Search him, then secure him here.” You growl as you leave and the stormtroopers barge into the cell.

***

“Don’t you think this is kinda twisted?” You ask as you poke at the food with a fork.

“What do you mean?” Alex asks, poking at the same pee-coloured slope as yours.

“We're trying to stop a bunch of people from freeing slaves.” You look at him, “Maybe we're the bad guys.”

“Evil and good don’t exist, this isn’t a Hollywood movie.” He bites his tongue. “But, you’re right, this isn’t morally right.”

“I don’t know about you, but I didn’t sign up for slavery. I thought the Empire stood for more than that.” 

“You didn’t sign on at all, your dad made you.”

“Oof, low blow Kallus.” You melodramatically clutch your heart. “For real though, this isn’t right.”

“What are we gonna do, we have no option but to keep the slaves from the rebels. It’s that or die or be tortured, there’s nothing we can do.”

“What if we ‘mess up’ lead the rebels to the Wookies, show up too late and ‘accidentally’ give the kid back. Then all the Empire can blame us for is incompetence.”

“I dunno, it sounds risky.”

“It’s better than slavery.”

“Agents! The prisoner is gone! There’s a security breach in the lower hanger.”

“Jesus Christ, we were gone for five minutes.” You growl. “Let them go, the kid will have picked up on radio chatter, we’ll meet them on Kessel. Terminate the troopers that let him go.”

***

“Let's make this clean, take them down, recover the Wookies and get out there.” You pull your blasters out of their holders. A firefight, that’s what this was and it only convinced you further that the Empire was not what it seemed. The rebels had freed the Wookies and now a man stood on the containment cells and ignited a lightsaber.

“Fuck me, a Jedi?!” You hiss under your breath. “Might as well just shoot myself.” Kallus had run after the kid and in that second, you knew you had lost, but you wanted the rebels to free the Wookies and the Jedi had just confirmed your ‘inability’ to secure the Wookies. The rebels ran into the containment cells and their ship picked them up.

“What do we do now, sir?” 

“Now we count our losses, I’ll recover Kallus, get everyone on the ship, Commander.” You sigh.

“I’m a captain, the Commander’s dead.” He points to the body of a stormtrooper.

“Well, now you’re a commander. Congrats on the promotion.” You say as you walk off in the direction Kallus had gone.

“You owe me for this one.” You reach a hand down to him, he takes it and you pull him up to the platform.

“We’ll never speak of this again.” He growls.

“That’ll cost extra.” You laugh. “At least they freed the Wookies.”

***

“What do you think?” You ask, leaning against the door, repurposed stormtrooper armour, vambraces, gloves, shoulder pads, boots and a chest plate were painted black and placed on your body with care. On the left shoulder pad and on the right shoulder you had painted the ISB logo, also in white and your rank plaque was attached to your breastplate. Under the armour, you wore a skin-tight suit made out of a comfortable material that stretched up your neck.

“You need a helmet.” He says without looking up.

“No, I don’t. Certainly not one like yours, that thing makes you look like Megamind.”

“You said you liked it!”

“I said I liked what you did with your perfectly good beard, answer the question.”

“You look better protected.” Alex lets his gaze trail down your body, before back to your eyes.

“Gee thanks, Alex. I look ‘better protected’.” You grumble and he laughs.

“Ask Pryce.” He jokes and you glare at him. He sobers up for a minute. “You look nice, scary if that’s what you're going for, but you need a helmet.”

“No, I don’t.” You cocked your head and he widened his eyes.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” He said dismissively.

“Toodles!” You sing-song as you leave his room.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Make that two chapters every two months. Does this restore your faith in me, or is that forever lost?

After the run-in with the rebel cell and the loss of the Wookie slaves, the next few months just blurred into one. After Kallus reported the appearance of a Jedi, the Inquisitor showed up. From what you could tell he didn’t have a name, just ‘the Inquisitor’. After your previous failures to capture the rebels, High Command sent someone to deal with your incompetence and that someone was your father, Grand Moff of the Outer Rim. King of the backwater yokels.

“I just love family visits.” You grumble as you walk beside Kallus on your way to the hanger.

“Don’t we all.” He smiles.

“I don’t get why we need two squads of stormtroopers, the Minister, Inquisitor and us just for my father to land on Lothal.”

“He _is_ a Grand Moff, that’s pretty esteemed.” He says as you come to a stop.

“Yeah, I guess.” You sigh as your father's shuttle reaches the hanger and begins to land. The ramp lowers, revealing Grand Moff Tarkin, he steps off the shuttle and makes his way to your little group.

“Ah, Grand Moff Tarkin. I am honoured by your visit to Lothal.” Minister Tuo said, shoving her head further up your father’s ass.

“My visit is hardly an honour, minister.” He dismisses her completely, walking past her without even looking at her.

“I admit I was surprised to learn you were coming.” She walks after her.

“And I, too, have been surprised by what’s been happening on your little backwater world.” He turns sharply, glaring at her as you, Kallus and the inquisitor stay silent. The minister chuckles nervously.

“If you are referring to the insurgents, I…”

“In the absence of Governor Pryce.” Your father cuts her off. “You have had a single, simple objective, Minister, to protect the Empire’s industrial interests here. Interests which are vital to our expansion throughout the Outer Rim, but instead of protecting those interests, you have allowed a cell of insurgents to flourish right under your nose. Am I correct?” The Minister clears her throat before he starts back up again. “And, Agent Kallus, my daughter, have you just stood idly by while this rabble have attacked our men, destroyed our property and disrupted our trade?”

“We have exhausted every resource to capture them, sir. This group has proven quite elusive.” Kallus speaks for both of you.

“It’s said their leader is a Jedi.” The Minister put in.

“Ah, yes. Let us not forget the sudden appearance of a Jedi, as if leaping from the pages of ancient history. A shame we don’t have someone who specializes in dealing with them, otherwise, our problem might be solved.” You all stood there like children being scolded by your father, except this man really was your father. “Minister have you ever met a Jedi?”

“No. I…” She starts.

“I actually knew the Jedi, not from the pages of folklore or children’s tales, but as flesh and blood and do you know what happened to them?”

“Well, there were rumours...” She looks away nervously.

“They died, every last one of them. So you see this criminal cannot be what he claims to be, and I shall prove it.” He turns on his heel and walks off.

“What a great guy,” Alex says quietly.

“Yeah…” You trail off.

“How are you even related, he’s all-” He imitates a vampire, “-blah and you’re all-” He puts his hands to his face and bats his eyelashes.

“Thanks, Kallus, I loved that little show.” You grumble as you follow after your father. “I love my father’s visits.”

***

“Commandant Cumberlayne Aresko and Taskmaster Myles Grint reporting.” You stand beside Kallus, behind your father in a large office room.

“Gentlemen, sit.” You father gestures to the seats in front of him and the two officers move to the seats. You bite the inside of your cheek, readying yourself for another long-winded conversation. The Inquisitor moved behind the two officers, his hands neatly behind his back. Something was off as your father stood from his seat and moved towards the officers, he finished his speech and turned to face away from the officers. The Inquisitor reached behind him to his blade, Kallus bit the inside of his cheek in realisation and you glared _Grand Moff_ Tarkin, the minister’s eyes were so wide they might have fallen out as the Inquisitor ignited his blade and brought it to the back of the Commandant and the Taskmaster’s necks. You pressed your nails into your palms, Kallus’ eyes widened and the minister covered her mouth as the Inquisitor pushed his blade through the necks of the officers.

“Make no mistake. From now on failure will have consequences. We will discover the whereabouts of these criminals and we will make examples of them.” He glared at all four of you. “Daughter, will you stay behind, we need to talk.” The Minister willingly left the room, followed by the Inquisitor, Alex gave you a long look before leaving as well.

“Thanks for the visit, Father.” You don’t even try to hide the resentment in your voice.

“I’m not here for you.” He says simply.

“I know, but thanks for being so loving.” You growl sarcastically.

“Watch your attitude.”

“Or what? You’ll kill me!” You wildly gesture to the still dead bodies in the office. “Cause it wouldn’t destroy Mother just like Garoche’s death did.”

“I won’t kill you, but your friend, Cellus-”

“Kallus. His name is Kallus and you know that.”

“I suppose I forgot.”

“I won’t kill you, but your mother doesn’t care about… _Kallus_.” 

“It was nice seeing you.” You turn on your heel, leaving your father in the office alone.

***

“A probe spotted the rebels, near the communications tower, the Grand Moff wants us to suit up and capture the Jedi,” Alex says from behind you.

“Sounds fun.” You groan, before sighing heavily. “I’ll sit this one out. I don’t want anything to do with my father at the moment.”

“Okay,” Kallus sounded sad for a moment before you heard the door to your room shut and to your surprise, Kallus pulled you into a hug. You tensed for a moment before relaxing into his embrace, he pulled away and gently rested his hand on your cheek. “I’m sorry about everything with your dad.”

“There’s nothing you can do about it.” You look down, before back to his eyes. He bit his lip as if he was considering something. He leans in momentarily before abruptly pulling back.

“I gotta-” He clears his throat. “Um… go.” You stand there puzzled as he trips over his words.

“Good luck.” You smile as he hurriedly leaves. “What the fuck was that.” You whispered under your breath when he was gone.

Everything when sour after that, the rebels rescued their Leader, blew up your father’s ship and killed the Inquisitor. You and Kallus were sent to meet your father on a platform outside of the main Imperial facilities. 

“We are getting reports of unrest from all over Lothal, father.” You inform him as he walks down the shuttle ramp. “There are whispers from Mustafar.”

“People now see the Empire as weak, vulnerable,” Kallus added.

“Not to worry, Agents. The Emperor has sent an alternative solution.” Your father didn’t look at you, just straight ahead. Mechanical breathing could be heard from within the ship. Mechanical breathing that was unique to one man, if he even was that. Darth Vader stepped off the shuttle and without even glancing at you of Kallus, continued walking to the door parallel to the shuttle’s ramp. Your father followed closely behind him.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay... So it seems not posting for 2 months then posting 2-4 chapters in one day seems to be becoming a usual thing... Anyway, enjoy your monthly addition to my collection of misguided thoughts.
> 
> Edit: I'm doing some editing of this story since I've found time to write. If you have already read this chapter I suggest you read it again since the dialogue has changed significantly and therefore the story is on another course.

In the weeks following Darth Vader's arrival on Lothal you and Kallus were rendered useless, you walked around the compound, occasionally trained and ate now and again. Essentially your presence was useless, that was until Kallus was called to ambush the Rebels on Geonosis. Then you were even more sure your father was punishing you for something you didn’t even do, you hadn’t been on a mission in months and when one finally came up your partner was sent. Not both of you.

It had been a year since your first run-in with the Jedi and the death of the first Inquisitor. Since then you and Kallus have had many run-ins with the ‘rebel cell’. The people of Lothal were under military control and all were uneasy around Imperials. Governor Pryce was doing a terrible job at Governor. You and Alex had grown closer over the year on Lothal, very few people saw that side of Alex, to everyone else he was cold, emotionless and cruel, you guessed that’s how everyone else saw you as well. 

_ “It’ll only be for a week, 84 hours, you’ll survive without me.” Alex insisted and you put your hands on your hips in a sort of mocking way. _ _   
_ _ “It’s not me I’m worried about, it’s you.” You point an accusing finger at him and he laughs. _

_ “You know I got on fine before I met you, right?” He pushed your finger away. _ _   
_ _ “Sure you did.” You returned your hand to your hip and he laughed again. _

_ “It’s only for a week.” He reiterated. _

_ “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” _

_ “You’l- I’ll be fine.” He corrected himself as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder. _

_ “Sure you will.” He smiles at your attempted sentiment before stepping onto the transport. _

You paced back and forth, that was the last time you’d seen Alex and the call that the outpost above Geonosis had been attacked by rebel insurgents that had come in didn’t help anything and to further your anxiety: Kallus wasn’t on the station. Without thought, you strapped your rifle to your back and stuck two standard issued blasters into the holsters on either side of your waist.   
“Agent, will you actually need all that firepower?” Pryce’s annoying voice sounded behind you, perhaps you were overreacting, but you would never let her know that you somewhat agreed with her.   
“Leave what happens on the front lines to me,  _ Governor. _ Kallus could be in immediate danger and rebel insurgents are in that sector, I’m not taking any chances.” You scowled, brushing past her to the shuttle take would take you to the ISD floating overhead.

***

“ALEX!” Ignoring the stormtroopers and officers behind you, you ran towards him. Kallus looked half-frozen and inquired, he let out an oof as you almost knocked him over in a bearhug. “Oh kriff, I shouldn’t’ve let you go without me.”

“You know I functioned fine before we met.” He protested and you raised an eyebrow.

“Sure you did.” You said sarcastically. “Kriff you’re hurt too.” You look at his leg and he smiles sheepishly. “We’re going back to Lothal and you’re going straight to a medic.” 

“Yes, mum.” He said sarcastically as you pulled his arm over your shoulders, helping him limp back to the ship.

***

It was about a day after Kallus had returned, you had suggested sneaking out as if you were teenagers and taking speeder bikes out to the middle of nowhere. Lothal offered a lot of ‘the middle of nowhere’. He had agreed and you had driven out to the ‘countryside’. The soft wisps of Lothal’s grass cushioned your head as you rested on one of the many hills Lothat had to offer. Two speeder bikes parked a couple of meters away, floating there, one of the containers open, showing food and blankets. Alex lay beside you, breathing deeply, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. The stars lit up the sky, a wonderful contrast against the blanket of dark. A cool, but comforting breeze blew over the hill, making your hair and clothes move slightly. The smell of grass and dirt crept up into your nose, making you sigh in contentment.

“You don’t get views like this on Coruscant.” You sigh, contently, looking over at Alex as he stares up at the stars.

“Yeah…” He trails off in thought. “You don’t”

“You know how you look at the sky and though all the stars are beautiful, there’s just that one that stands out, shines brighter than all the rest?” He asked and you hummed.

“Pretty poetic way to put it.” You muse, but he doesn’t laugh.

“The Empire will never be that star.” He finishes, the ending of his seemingly poetic story was not what you thought it would be. But that wasn't what occupied your mind, it was the way he hinted at treason. 

“Alex, don’t you think that that's a little harsh.” You glanced around, paranoid that someone could have heard him.

“I’m serious,” Then he noticed your anxiety. “No-one heard me, there's not even someone for miles.” He tried to be reassuring, but your mind was going into overdrive.

“I’m serious too,” You defend. “If someone, anyone heard you… You could be executed for even hinting at treason.”

“It’s treason then.” He shrugged. “You know it too, the Empire’s time is coming to an end, just look at how much the Empire has suppressed the citizens of Lothal.”

“We can’t do anything about that, we’ll just be killed for nothing.” You hiss, but he’s unfazed.

“That’s where you’re wrong, if the citizens see that the Empire’s own ranks are turned against the cause they’ll stand up too and then it won't just be us. It’ll be thousands,” His eyes do that thing where they crinkle at the sides when he genuinely smiles. “That bright star that could be the Rebellion.

“Alex, a second ago you were ready to kill them, now you want to join them?” You stare at him in confusion, trying to figure out whatever motive he had. “What happened to you on that moon?”

“He helped me Y/N, I just wanted to kill him, but he helped me. The criminals aren’t just criminals, they’re a family,” He looked at you and you could tell that for whatever reason he was incredibly passionate about this. “Don’t tell me you never wanted a family. A real family, where they love you no matter what, support you in everything and don’t throw you to the dogs.”

“You’re missing the part where  _ we’re _ family and if you do this and get killed in the process you’ll be leaving me.” You push down the tears forming in your eyes. “The Empire’s time might be coming to an end but they’re still just as powerful.”

“But the Rebellion could be more than the Empire will ever be.”

“The Rebellion stands for something we should be striving for, but it won’t work in practice, you know that. We both know how this world works and it’s not in favour of the little guy.”

“If that’s how you really feel then you’re the only family I need.” He gave a small smile, the conversation on rebellion and treason was over and things were once again peaceful, but you knew Alex and he wasn’t the sort to drop subjects and his ‘new cause’ would never go away as much as you wanted it to.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I was asked when Thrawn was returning... I mean you didn't hear it from me, but perhaps this chapter...
> 
> Edit: So after an intense moment of thought I decided to slightly rewrite the last two chapters completely so they flowed with the story better and weren't completely melodramatic. So as I said in the previous chapter if you have already read this chapter I suggest you reread it since it has been quite severely edited. Oh, and just in case you didn't know, a MRE or Meal, Ready to Eat is what they give soldiers in the war its like food you just add water to.

“Pryce has gone to Tarkin.” You look up from sludge on the tray, Kallus sits across from you. “She’s requesting to be sent the Seventh Fleet, rumors are that an alien commands it. Kriff, you should hear all of the stories about him.”

“What’s wrong with Konstantine? Doesn’t he do fleety things?” You ask and Kallus shrugs.

“I don’t think she likes how he does ‘fleety things’, that or she thinks he’s ineffective,” He pokes at the snot looking meal with a fork, “Why do we eat this with forks? I think it’s more of a spoon thing.”

“I don’t think there _is_ a right way to eat this,” You poke it once more before turning your attention to the rest of the MRE on your tray. He laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling ever so slightly. “What do you think the briefing is about tonight?” You ask him and he shrugs.

“I hope it’s about them getting rid of MRE and actually getting real food.” Alex sighed.

“I second that.” You poke at the goo one last time before actually eating it. It tastes how it looks, flavourless and with the texture of something in between raw egg whites and jelly.

***

“I’m certain Governor Pryce is overestimating how organised the Resistance is. While it’s true there are pockets of rebellion, there has never been any evidence of a larger, galaxy-wide operation.” Admiral Konstantine droned on as you fought the temptation to roll your eyes. So that’s why the briefing was called, Kallus was right, Pryce had spoken to your father about the Seventh Fleet. Even if she had and that’s what this meeting was about, you still weren’t sure why you all had to be there, it was awkward enough with your father being in the same room as you, now you had to discuss the thoughts of Arhinda Pryce.

“And I would like to keep it that way.” A voice said. Hearing it sent shivers down your spine and you knew instantly who it belonged to, Thrawn. In a split-second, a hurricane of emotions ruptured through you. In the corner of your eye you noticed Konstanine’s back straighten in defence or just in recognition of the newcomer, but there was fear in his eyes. Thrawn’s angular face appeared ominously out of the shadows, the little sewer rat of a Governor appeared beside him. The next thing you noticed was Eli was nowhere to be seen, he would always be beside Thrawn, Thrawn had even referred to him as ‘like a brother’, but you hadn’t seen him or Thrawn in years, he could’ve been killed or transferred, hopefully, the latter.

“Grand Admiral Thrawn.” The words rolled off your father's tongue in respect you had never seen as if this man was the son to replace Garoche. 

“Grand Admiral?” Admiral Konstantine butted in rather rudely.

“The Emperor recently promoted me after my victory at Batonn.” He drew, taking no notice to Konstanine’s abruptness, his voice as calm and steady as it always had been.

“Civilian casualties outnumbered insurgents at the time.” Alex challenged without warning, the third thing you noticed was that Alex knew of Thrawn’s promotion and hadn’t told you.

“Acceptable at the time, Agent Kallus,” Pryce said, dismissing him as if he wasn’t even there. “For there are no longer rebels in that sector.”

“Well, Thrawn, what do you think of Governor Pryce’s theory about the Rebels in the Lothal sector.” Your father asked _because let's hear what an experienced military strategist has to say about a pathetic bitches improvident theory which he will most definitely backup because it would be rude if he didn’t._

“This is a pirate our rebels rescued from the Naraka prison.” Thrawn pulls up a hologram of Hondo Ohnaka and everyone gathers around the table, you try not to instinctively lean into Thrawn who stood beside you. Then you noticed a forth thing, Thrawn hadn’t even acknowledged you, after the thought you broke from your trance, abruptly leaning away from him and brushing Alex’s shoulder in the doing. “Within the last hour, the Phoenix squadron destroyed Mining Guild ships using the Sereeda Hyperspace Waypoint. Taken separately, they may seem unrelated, but Ohnaka’s cellmate was a labourer at our starfighter reclamation plant in the Yama system one jump point away from the Sereeda attack.” He finishes his speech and Pryce opens her mouth.

“Grand Admiral Thrawn believes the rebels intend to raid the plant and steal fighters for their fleet.” She concludes for him as if Thrawn was unable to do it himself. 

“Every ship they add to their arsenal increases the threat to our own armada and the Emperor’s plans,” Thrawn adds, though the statement was obvious.

“I trust you have a solution?” Your father put too much faith in the Chiss and too little trust in you.

“I will start my operations here and pull the rebels apart piece by piece. They’ll be the architects of their own destruction.” So he _was_ staying.

“That was eventful,” Kallus commented as you walked back to your sleeping quarters.  
“To say the least.” You grumbled the meeting had gone fine, but the outcome was worrying.

“You alright? You know with sexy Blue Man Group coming in and taking control of operations.” He asked and you elbowed him.

“I dunno, it’s better than Pryce in charge, but then again I’m still not sure why we need him.” You furrow your eyebrows in thought as you stop in front of your door, leaning slightly against the wall.  
“Moff Tarkin must think the Rebels success is our incompetence.” Alex put in, making you shake your head.

“I guess it is, they seem to evade our every move” You sigh as he leaned against the wall opposite you, his amber eyes staring into yours.

“Well if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em.” He smiles sheepishly.

“Al.” You warn before he pushes himself off the wall and begins to walk backwards to his door.

“See you at dinner, Y/N.” He mock salutes before disappearing into his room, leaving you alone and with your thoughts. In an attempt to distract yourself from your emotions about Thrawn’s sudden appearance you decide on a spar before dinner and in a matter of moments, you were in intense combat with three training droids.

You drove a punch home to one of the training droids’ heads. It fell to the ground leaving you and two other ones, you dodge a blow then sweep a foot, hoping to knock the droid over. It jumps over you, about to strike when the door opens, trying not to focus on the visitor you dodge another attack from one of the droids.

“Why didn’t you acknowledge me?” You ask.

“Because I didn’t want people to assume we already have a relationship,” Thrawn answers from behind you. You duck a punch from a droid.

“You already have a relationship with Pryce, but I guess it's okay for you to speak directly to her.” You huff.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to hinder your rising in the ranks.” You couldn’t see him, but he sounded genuine.  
“A nod wouldn’t have killed you.” You added, throwing your weight into a kick aiming for the droid’s stomach when it connected it sent a jolt through your bones and knocked the droid to its ass. 

“You know we used to train together.” He points out, walking along the edge of the training mat.

“That was years ago.” You dodge another attack, though the nostalgia of it makes you smile.

“Doesn’t make it any less true.” He defends.

“A Grand Admiral in the Imperial Navy would be severely out of practice. I assume it has been a while since you had to partake in hand to hand combat.”

“It has been quite a while,” He admits. “But I can still fight.”

“Eriadu.” You turn to look at him as the droids switch off immediately. 

“Does the Phrase have any meaning?” He asks.

“My homeworld,” Your answer is short, but you’re not sure what else to say. Then you notice a fifth and important thing Thrawn was wearing combat worthy clothes, even though he and you had private gyms he came down to yours, meaning he knew you were going to be here. “Well then, if you really can still fight would you care for a match.” He smiled his small smile and threw his towel to the floor.

“Your move first.”

“You were always too cocky.” He dropped, sweeping a leg. You tucked yourself into a roll, landing on your feet behind him. Before he could register where you were you grabbed his arm and drove a kick to the back of his leg, he didn’t move and instead he twisted his arm so he had the vantage point then he dragged you into a headlock. You reach behind you, grabbing his neck then you swing your legs up for leverage and pull him over your shoulder with all your strength. He lands on his back on the mat, but before you can declare victory he places his hands on either side of his head, throwing his legs up, his jumps to his feet. 

“A bit rusty,” You smile and he stares at you. “Back in the academy, you would have beaten me by now.”

“You talk yourself down, you almost always triumphed over me.” He corrects, you throw yourself into a handstand, pushing your thighs on either side of his head and using your momentum to throw him to the ground. You quickly get off to avoid an awkward situation but place a foot lightly on his chest as if to rub it in that he’s beaten before you can react he grabs your foot and pulls you on top of him again.

Your chest was touching his, your arms on either side of his head and your breath mingles with his. His eyes were on yours and as his hands ghosted your hips you bit the bullet and kissed him. He immediately kisses back, your hands slip into his hair and his were now more firm on your waist. After what seemed like both forever and a second you broke the kiss. 

“Dinner,” You smile. “As much as I’ve missed _you_ , I don’t want to miss my MRE.” You kiss his cheek. Climbing off him and walking towards your towel. He sits up and crossed his legs. “I really and sorry for not acknowledging you.” He repeats you pull the towel around your neck. 

“I know, I was being a tad overdramatic.” You admit and he huffed a laugh.

“I’ll see you later?” He asks and you smile.

“I hope so.” With that you leave him sitting in the training room, trying to hide the massive smile on your face.

Your smile faded quickly when you saw the data card that was stuck on the door. When you inserted the data card into your pad it completely disappeared. On the screen was a video of Vader impaling Garoche. The video was four seconds long and played over and over again. It felt as if your heart stopped, you couldn’t function and you certainly didn’t feel happy anymore. You let go of the datapad and it fell to the floor, you began to hyperventilate. All of a sudden your world was crashing down and you didn’t know who to blame.


End file.
